Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Nobility \No*bil"i*ty\, n. [L. nobilitas: cf. OF. nobilit['e].
   See {Noble}.]
   1. The quality or state of being noble; superiority of mind
      or of character; commanding excellence; eminence.

            Though she hated Amphialus, yet the nobility of her
            courage prevailed over it.            --Sir P.
                                                  Sidney.

            They thought it great their sovereign to control,
            And named their pride nobility of soul. --Dryden.

   2. The state of being of high rank or noble birth; patrician
      dignity; antiquity of family; distinction by rank,
      station, or title, whether inherited or conferred.

            I fell on the same argument of preferring virtue to
            nobility of blood and titles, in the story of
            Sigismunda.                           --Dryden.

   3. Those who are noble; the collictive body of nobles or
      titled persons in a stste; the aristocratic and patrician
      class; the peerage; as, the English nobility.

Source : WordNet®

nobility
     n 1: a privileged class holding hereditary titles [syn: {aristocracy}]
     2: the quality of being exalted in character or ideals or
        conduct [syn: {magnanimousness}, {grandeur}]
     3: the state of being of noble birth [syn: {noblesse}]