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The honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank; in American English this often includes the expectation of benevolent actions such as helping those less fortunate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
the obligation of those of high rank to be honorable and generous (often used ironically)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: duty, responsibility, obligation
Borrowed from French noblesse oblige (literally “nobility obliges”), primarily used as a phrase. See noblesse and obliger.
Across languages
Translations
25 source translations are retained for this English entry.
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Chinese Mandarin:
貴族義務 /贵族义务
(guìzú yìwù)
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Czech:
vznešenost zavazuje
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Danish:
adel forpligter
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Dutch:
adel verplicht
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Dutch:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Estonian:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
-
Finnish:
aateluus velvoittaa
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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French:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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German:
Adel verpflichtet
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Hungarian:
a nemesség kötelez
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Hungarian:
a név kötelez
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Indonesian:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
-
Italian:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
-
Japanese:
ノブレス・オブリージュ
(noburesu oburīju)
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Korean:
노블레스 오블리주
(nobeulleseu obeulliju)
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Northern Kurdish:
xanedanî xwastin
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Norman:
noblièche oblyige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Norwegian Bokmål:
adel forplikter
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Polish:
szlachectwo zobowiązuje
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Portuguese:
noblesse oblige
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Romanian:
noblețea obligă
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Russian:
нобле́с обли́ж
(noblés oblíž)
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Serbo-Croatian:
плѐмство обавезује
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
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Serbo-Croatian:
plèmstvo obavezuje
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
-
Spanish:
nobleza obliga
— the honourable obligation that is the responsibility of those of high rank
