Dictionary entry

Ignoble

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ig‐no″ble (?), a. [L. ignobilis; pref. in- not + nobilis noble: cf. F. ignoble. See In- not, and Noble, a.] 1. Of low birth or family; not noble; not illustrious; plebeian; common; humble.

I was not ignoble of descent. Shak.

Her royal stock graft with ignoble plants. Shak.

2. Not honorable, elevated, or generous; base.

'T is but a base, ignoble mind,

That mounts no higher than a bird can soar. Shak.

Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife. Gray.

3. (Zoöl.) Not a true or noble falcon; — said of certain hawks, as the goshawk.

Syn. — Degenerate; degraded; mean; base; dishonorable; reproachful; disgraceful; shameful; scandalous; infamous.