means The class of people who hold inherited aristocratic rank and titles — or, more abstractly, the quality of having a noble, high-minded character.

from From Latin nobilis, "well-known, famous, of high birth" — which traces back to the root of noscere, "to know." The earliest nobles were quite literally the notable ones, the people everybody knew about. English took the word in around the 14th century through Old French noblete. So the word carries its own quiet admission: nobility was less about virtue than about being recognized — a name that preceded you into every room.