释义 |
noblyadv.Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by derivation. Or (ii) a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: noble adj., -ly suffix2; noblely adv. Etymology: Either < noble adj. + -ly suffix2, or a reduced form of noblely adv. Compare Old French, Middle French, French noblement (c1140). the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > splendour > [adverb] > magnificently c1300 St. Thomas Apostle (Harl.) 207 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill (1956) 578 Þat noble bold..Imaked..is al as he þe seide, and noblikere if hit may Of ȝymes and stones preciouse. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 3279 Þis feste was noble ynou, & nobliche ydo. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 28v Mannes body þat nobilest among alle Elementis and most nobilliche is I-ordeined among alle þinges. a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) 7408 Dauid cowde..nobely harpe and sing wiþ rote. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) (1996) i. 9626 Nobilly [a1450 Lamb. Nobliche] his courte he led. ?a1425 (c1400) (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 115 (MED) Þat ydole..sytteth in a chayere of gold full nobely arrayed. c1429 (1986) l. 40 The Temple Salomon belded to God noblye. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. (1882–7) lxxxi. 241 Thus..kyng Charlemayn nobly accompanyed rode..by his iourneyes. 1569 R. Grafton II. 247 The two Cardynals went thorough Henault at the desire of ye erle, who feasted them right nobly. c1600 (?c1395) (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) 128 Þi name schall nobliþ ben wryten & wrouȝt. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher iv. i. 92 The Rod, and Bird of Peace, and all such Emblemes Laid Nobly on her. View more context for this quotation 1668 S. Pepys 2 Nov. (1976) IX. 345 There I was stopped, and dined mighty nobly at a little table. 1735 J. Swift Humble Addr. to Parl. in IV. 227 The painted Chamber, and Court of Requests,..are never so nobly filled, as when an Irish Appeal is under Debate. 1749 J. Cleland I. 190 All that manhood he was so nobly stock'd with. 1871 B. Taylor (1875) II. iii. 185 Cheerful and brave and bold, and nobly formed is he. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ (1891) 161 A nobly proportioned..apartment. 1911 J. Muir 196 To the eastward of our camp grove, stands one of Nature's cathedrals, hewn from the living rock,..nobly adorned with spires and pinnacles. 1934 M. McLuhan 4 Oct. (1987) 19 It is dark stained solid one inch oak and will age nobly. 1980 J. Lowerson (BNC) 89 More nobly ornamented and furnished than the castles they replaced, these houses still shared the abysmal sanitation of the latter. 2000 (Nexis) 9 Oct. (Local section) b1 There are some fine restaurants in the towns along the sound and I'll probably dine nobly half the evenings. the mind > emotion > courage > valour > valour or stoutness > [adverb] > in an exalted manner society > morality > virtue > morally elevated quality > [adverb] c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 5545 Þis noble king aþelston..Nobliche & wel he faȝt. c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) (1973) 4880 (MED) No herd men neuer so fewe in lond Noblicher so fewe wiþstond. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 73 (MED) He defendede hym nobeliche, but þeyȝ slouȝ hym. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) ii. 164 (MED) Roberd of Thornham bare him nobilly [Fr. noblement], Bi þe se side he nam, & wan it per maistrie. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 376 He called..sir Marhalt, the good knyght that was nobly proved. c1500 (?a1475) (1896) 1073 (MED) Nobully theym bare and faught myghtyly. c1550 (1830) v. 338 To sie thir mightie princes nobillie Reflect to uther. a1612 J. Harington Brief View Church of Eng. in (1804) II. 243 The arch-bishop did much noblier to hazard this obliquie of some idle tongues. 1669 Ld. Orrery VI. iii. v. 8 His..Navy could not have been Noblyer lost. 1692 E. Walker tr. Epictetus Introd. His rich Soul aloft did soar, And nobly left the drossy ground. 1776 E. Gibbon I. xi. 375 No general had more nobly deserved a triumph than Aurelian. 1785 W. Cowper v. 705 Patriots have toiled, and in their country's cause Bled nobly. 1847 J. J. Oswandel (1885) iii. 148 It stood it nobly against the howling storm, not budging an inch. 1856 J. A. Froude (1858) I. ii. 177 His impulses, in general nobly directed, had never known contradiction. 1949 G. Wilson Knight xiv. 272 Nobly he appears to have read, and reread them, ‘several times over’ in Russian, English, and German. 1984 A. Livingstone vi. 88 Gregors' insistence on the obligation to face life nobly and without lies. 1994 30 Aug. ii. 11/3 George was in charge of the lasagne. He is a confirmed veggie-phobe, but nobly consented to put mushrooms into three-quarters of it. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adverb] 1591 E. Spenser Teares of Muses in 446 What bootes it then to come from glorious Forefathers, or to have been nobly bredd? 1597 W. Shakespeare iii. v. 180 A Gentleman..youthfull, and nobly trainde. View more context for this quotation 1719 J. T. Philipps tr. B. Ziegenbalg 283 That our Souls are nobly and heavenly descended, I allow. 1814 J. Austen III. i. 18 You..are, in a wild fit of folly, throwing away from you such an opportunity of being settled in life, eligibly, honourably, nobly settled, as will, probably, never occur to you again. View more context for this quotation 1822 Ld. Byron i. i I, born nobly also,..was taught a different lesson. 1994 H. Bloom iv. xix. 444 There can be few descriptions of Orlando so clarifying as ‘very nobly born in a bookish sense’. Compoundssociety > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of birth 1586 J. Ferne 2 To intreate of the honours, dignities, stemmes, and atchieuments, of certaine personages, nobly discended in England and France. a1596 G. Peele England's Holidays in (1839) III. 186 Nowell and Needham, gentlemen of name,..Both nobly-minded,..resolved to run in honour of the day. 1608 at Sylvester, Josuah Mistresse Essex,..eldest daughter of the right valiant and Nobly Descended Sir Walter Harecourt. 1620 T. Granger 340 A man of noble mind begetteth noblie-minded children. 1702 C. Beaumont (new ed.) vii. cxcii. 99 O nobly-privileg'd Poverty. 1789 C. Smith V. v. 109 The nobly born, and nobly minded Montgomery. 1822 Ld. Byron iii. i Asking after you With nobly-born impatience. 1851 J. Baillie 809 Mary Montgomery! nobly sounding name, and worthy she to bear it. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in 242 These two Were the most nobly-manner'd men of all. 1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer I. v. 158 Who quickly will destroy Your nobly-peopled city. 1917 R. Bourne in Sept. 545 But this nobly-sounding sense of the futility of art in a world of war may easily infect conscientious minds. 1932 W. Lewis ii. xvi. 227 This nobly-conceived and admirably-written air-epic. 1995 16 May 18/1 The nobly-born wives of commoners can display the family trademark in a wholly undifferenced form. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adv.c1300 |