1. Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; base or mean. See synonyms at mean².
2. Not of the nobility; common.

[Middle English, of low birth, from Old French, from Latin ignōbilis : i-, in-, not; see in-¹ + nōbilis, gnōbilis, noble; see noble.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.