noblesse
French upper crust
Noblesse is the nobility—the class of people holding hereditary titles and privileges.
The word is French and appears most often in the phrase noblesse oblige, the idea that privilege brings responsibility: those with wealth and status should behave generously toward those without.
Highest-ranking nobleman
- countessFeminine noble rank
- baronLow-ranking peer
- marquisNoble above count
- viscountMid-ranking British noble
peerage · gentry · patrician · blueblood · manor · chateau · dynasty · lineage
Generous giving for others
- benevolenceDisposition toward doing good
- charityVoluntary aid for others
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
- responsibilityState of being answerable
duty · patronage · benefaction · largesse · magnanimity · munificence · public service · civic virtue
Knightly code of honor
- gallantryCourage, especially in combat
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- dignityInnate personal worth
- rectitudeMoral straightness
decorum · courtliness · gentility · refinement · breeding · propriety · graciousness · honor code
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- birthrightEntitlement from origin
- pedigreeRecord of descent
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
descent · heirloom · legacy · succession · primogeniture · genealogy · forebears · patrimony
Elevated rank or renown
- distinctionNotable difference or honor
- statusOne's relative position
- renownWidespread acclaim and recognition
- influencePower to affect others
grandeur · majesty · splendor · prominence · social standing · exclusivity · refinement · cultivated
duke
Highest-ranking nobleman
viscount · peerage · gentry · patrician · blueblood · manor · chateau · dynasty · lineage · courtier
philanthropy
Generous giving for others
- benevolenceDisposition toward doing good
- charityVoluntary aid for others
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
responsibility · duty · patronage · benefaction · largesse · magnanimity · munificence · public service · civic virtue · condescension
chivalry
Knightly code of honor
rectitude · decorum · courtliness · gentility · refinement · breeding · propriety · graciousness · honor code · high-mindedness
ancestry
Family line of descent
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- birthrightEntitlement from origin
- pedigreeRecord of descent
bloodline · descent · heirloom · legacy · succession · primogeniture · genealogy · forebears · patrimony · entailment
eminence
Elevated rank or renown
- distinctionNotable difference or honor
- statusOne's relative position
- renownWidespread acclaim and recognition
influence · grandeur · majesty · splendor · prominence · social standing · exclusivity · refinement · cultivated · illustrious
noblessecommoners
Ordinary citizens, untitled
peasantry · plebeians · commonalty · riffraff · rabble
noblessebaseness
Moral worthlessness
ignobility · vileness · debasement · meanness · lowliness
- noblesse obligeHigh rank requires benevolence