nobilitas

Forms

nōbilitās f (genitive nōbilitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin nōbilis (“well known, noble”) + -tās.^[2][1][3] nōbilis, archaic ⟨gnōbilis⟩, is made from nōscō (“to get to know”) with ⟨-bilis⟩;^[2][1][4] de Vaan derives nōscō from Proto-Italic *gnōske- and Proto-Indo-European *ǵnh₃-sḱé- (“to know”), cognate with Ancient Greek γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^[4] who has eam nōbilitātem āmittendam videō, “I see that I must lose that distinction”, and volūī … meam nōbilitātem occultāre et genus et dīvitiās, “I wished to hide my rank, my family and my wealth”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Nōbilitās is “renown, celebrity” (Terence) and “distinction”, and above all “noble rank or birth” (Plautus, Cicero), and so the nobles as a body.^[2][5][1][6] It also means nobility of character, “excellence, heroism” (Cicero of the Decii: nōbilitās mortis, “the nobility of their death”), and of things “superior quality” (Cicero of statues of the highest workmanship).^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “nobility, noble birth, excellence, worth”.^[7] Medieval Latin adds “a title of honour” and “a nobleman's castle”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: eam nōbilitātem āmittendam videō.^[2][3]
• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of renown.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero: nōbilitās mortis.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. renown, celebrity, fame.^[2][5][1]
2. Distinction.^[2]
3. Noble birth or rank; the nobility.^[2][5][1][7]
4. Nobleness, excellence (of character).^[2][1][7]
5. Superior quality (of things).^[2]
6. (Medieval Latin) A title of honour;^[6] a nobleman's castle.^[6]

Related words

• nōbilis
• nōscō
• ignōbilitās

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson