Where does “noble” come from?
noble (Middle English) comes from Old French noble, from Latin nōbilis, from Latin -bilis, from Proto-Italic -ðlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom — Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...
noble (Middle English): noble
Definitions
- noble
Ancestry of “noble”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | noble | noble; upper-class; well-bred |
| 2 | Latin | nōbilis | noble, high-born |
| 3 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |