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Relative condition; state. Lived on a footing of equality with nobles. Macaulay.

ighty father on a hill Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp Forage in blood of French nobility. Shak. Foraging ant (Zoöl.), one of several species of ants of the genus Eciton, very abundant in tropical America, remarkable for marching in vast armies in search of food. -- Foraging cap, a forage cap. -- Foraging pa…

udden or irregular; express; as, he gave his formal consent. His obscure funeral . . . No noble rite nor formal ostentation. Shak.

Magnanimity; generosity; liberality; frankness; nobility. "Franchise in woman." [Obs.] Chaucer. Elective franchise, the privilege or right of voting in an election of public officers.

To form into little burs, prominences, knobs, or tufts, as the nap of cloth.

An American plant (Limnobium Spongia), with similar habits.

Noble in bearing or spirit; brave; high-spirited; courageous; heroic; magnanimous; as, a gallant youth; a gallant officer. That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds. Shak. The gay, the wise, the gallant, and the grave. Waller.

Noble birth. [Obs.] Harris (Voyages).

Exhibiting those qualities which are popularly reregarded as belonging to high birth; noble; honorable; magnanimous; spirited; courageous. "The generous critic." Pope. "His generous spouse." Pope. "A generous pack [of hounds]." Addison.

Gentle; noble; of gentle birth. [Obs.] All of a knight [who] was fair and gent. Chaucer.

Nobility of birth or of character; gentility. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Gentleness; courtesy; kindness; nobility. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Well-born; of a good family or respectable birth, though not noble. British society is divided into nobility, gentry, and yeomanry, and families are either noble, gentle, or simple. Johnson's Cyc. The studies wherein our noble and gentle youth ought to bestow their time. Milton.

ople of education and good breeding; in England, in a restricted sense, those between the nobility and the yeomanry. Macaulay.

Illustrious; honorable; noble. [Obs.] Milton.

Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. These are thy glorious works, Parent of good ! Milton.

of two or more species of American fresh-water fishes of the family Centrarchidæ, esp. Chænobryttus antistius, of Lake Michigan and adjacent waters, and Ambloplites rupestris, of the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley; -- so called from their prominent eyes.

Gold foil, thin sheets of gold, as used by dentists and others. See Gold leaf. -- Gold knobs or knoppes (Bot.), buttercups. -- Gold lace, a kind of lace, made of gold thread. -- Gold latten, a thin plate of gold or gilded metal. -- Gold leaf, gold beaten into a film of extreme thinness, and used for gilding, etc.…

A friend or comrade; a companion; a familiar and customary acquaintance. [Obs.] My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal. Shak.

To adorn; to decorate; to embellish and dignify. Great Jove and Phoebus graced his noble line. Pope. We are graced with wreaths of victory. Shak.