nobile

Forms

nobile m or f by sense (plural nobili, superlative nobilissimo)^[1] Old forms include nobele, nobole and novile.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin nōbilis (“known, famous; of noble birth”).^[5][6][7][1] The adjective was formed from Latin nōscō (“to get to know”) + -bilis, so its first sense was “known”.^[5][6][8][1] Old Latin also wrote it gnōbilis.^[8][9][4] Leumann, cited by de Vaan, explains it as a back-formation from ignōbilis (“unknown; of low birth”).^[9] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).^[9]

The same Latin word gave French noble, Catalan noble, Spanish noble, Portuguese nobre and Romansh nobel.^[10][6] DEI notes that the shift from “noble” to “very good, excellent” had already happened in Late Latin, where a translation of Dioscorides speaks of a “noble” medicine.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the early 13th century in Bondie Dietaiuti, with the sense “worthy, dignified, distinguished”: disserto e sagio e nobil tuttavia (“eloquent and wise and noble always”).^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Before 1294 Brunetto Latini used nobile for something that excels others of its kind, and the noun, “a member of the nobility”, is in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308).^[5] Dante argues there that the family does not make individuals noble, but individuals make the family noble.^[3] Bono Giamboni explains that a man is called noble for his noble deeds of virtue.^[2]

The derivatives nobiltà and nobilitare follow the Latin words nōbilitās and nōbilitō.^[5][6] Nobiliare (1797) is French nobiliaire.^[5] In modern Italian the word has technical senses: in chemistry gas nobile and metallo nobile, in the theatre padre nobile, and in architecture piano nobile.^[7][11][12] German borrowed the plural Nobili for the nobles of the old Italian states (1806).^[13]

Timeline

• Early 13th century – Bondie Dietaiuti uses nobile.^[5][2]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it of things that excel others.^[5]
• Late 13th century – Nobili donne appears in the Novellino.^[5]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses nobile as a noun and nobiltà.^[5]
• 1797 – Nobiliare is recorded in the minutes of the Venetian Municipality.^[5]
• 1806 – German Nobili is first recorded.^[13]
• 1857–1858 – Nievo writes nobildonna as one word.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Belonging to the nobility by birth or by grant of a sovereign, aristocratic: un conte di famiglia nobile.^[7][11][14]
2. Befitting a noble, dignified, distinguished: un'andatura nobile.^[7][12][14]
3. Excelling others of its kind, of fine quality: un cavallo nobile, vino nobile.^[7][11][12]
4. (figurative) Morally elevated, generous, magnanimous: un'azione nobile.^[7][15][11]
5. (chemistry) Reacting little or not at all: gas nobile, metallo nobile.^[11][12][14]
6. (theatre) In padre nobile and madre nobile, the actor or actress playing the father, the mother or an older person.^[15][14]

Noun

1. A nobleman or noblewoman, a member of the nobility.^[7][15][12]

Word family

• nobiltà
• nobilitare
• nobilmente
• nobiliare
• nobildonna
• nobiluomo
• nobilesco
• nobilitazione
• nobilume

Related words

• ignobile
• noto
• conoscere
• Latin nobilis
• French noble

Usage notes

Piano nobile is the main floor of a noble palace, used for the family and receptions, and now, loosely, the first or second floor of a building.^[11][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2591
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
11. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
13. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
14. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse