noble

& 8. [Fr., from Lat. nobilis (for gno bilis )=well-known, notable, noble; from gno- the base nosco (for gnosco)=to know (q. v.); Ital. nobile; Sp. noble; Port. nobre.] A. As adjective: I. Ordinary Language: were of 1. High in excellence or worth; applied to persons or things; characterized by nobility of mind or sentiment; magnanimous, honorable, worthy, dignified; above all that is mean or dishonorable. "The sentiments of the Irish Jacobite a nobler character."- Macaulay : Hist. Eng . , ch. xii. 2. Choice, excellent; of a choice cla or kind. "I had planted thee a noble vine."-Jeremiah ii. 21. 3. Of high rank, station, or dignity; of ancient or eminent lineage; pertaining to the nobility; as noble birth, a noble family. 4. Magnificent, stately, splendid, grand; as, a noble mansion. 5. Free, generous, liberal, ingenuous. "These were more noble than those in The alonica." Acts xvii. 11. 6. Great, prodigious. II. Min .: Excellent; pure in the highest degree? as, a noble opal; noble tourmaline, . B. As substantive: I. Ord. Lang.: One of noble birth or family; one of rank above a commoner; a nobleman, a peer. Frequently in the plural, the nobility. "The nobles hath he fined For ancient quarrels." Shakesp.: Richard II., ii. 1. II. Technically: 1. Entom .: Linnæus placed the Swallow-tailed Papilio nide at the head of the order Lepidoptera, and called them Nobiles (Nobles), naming them after the heroes of Greece and Troy. 2. Numis.: A gold coin struck by Edward III., and originally of the value of $1.66. In the reigns of Henry VI. and Edward IV.. the value of the noble having risen to $2.50, another gold coin of the same value as the original noble was i ued called an angel (q.v.). Half-nobles and quarter-nobles were also current. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Ancient Arabic Order of the, s. A secret society whose membership is composed strictly of Masons who have reached the 32d degree, A. A. S. Rite (18th degree in England), or Knights Templar in good standing. There are 79 temples of the order in the United States, and a total in ember ship of about 50,000. noble-liverwort, s . Botany : (1) Hepatica triloba : [HEPATICA); (2) [LIVERWORT, (2).] noble-metals, s . pl . A term applied to the met. als gold, silver, platinum, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and mercury, which can be separated from oxygen by heat alone.