nobby

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

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🗓️ 23 December 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 23, 2023 is:

nobby • \NAH-bee\ • adjective

Nobby is a synonym of chic and typically describes people and things that are cleverly stylish. The word is sometimes disapproving in modern use.

// The restaurant was a bit too nobby for my tastes, but I did enjoy the food.

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Examples:

“If documentaries about famously nobby creatives are your schtick, you should also bookmark Todd Haynes’s much-lauded The Velvet Underground, which reconsiders the figure of Lou Reed and premiered in the Grand Théâtre Lumière to rapturous applause.” — Hayley Maitland, British Vogue, 16 July 2021

Did you know?

Nobby comes from the noun nob, which is used in British English to mean “one in a superior position in life.” (This nob may have begun as a slang word for “head,” but a possible connection to noble has been suggested as well.) Appearing in English in the 18th century, nobby was first used to describe people in society’s upper echelons. In a way similar to that of a more recent coinage, posh, it has extended in usage to describe the places frequented by such people, as well as their genteel customs. Charles Dickens, for example, wrote in his 1853 novel Bleak House of “[r]especting this unfortunate family matter, and the nobbiest way of keeping it quiet.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Merriam-Webster's word of the day for December 23rd.
0:11.2	Today's word is N-O-B-B-Y. N-B-Y. N-B-Y is an adjective. It's a synonym of the word
0:17.8	sheik and typically describes people and things that are cleverly stylish. The word sometimes is disapproving in
0:26.3	modern use. Here's the word used in a sentence from British vogue by Haley
0:31.6	Maitland.
0:33.4	If documentaries about famously Nobby creatives are your stick,
0:37.8	you should also bookmark Todd Haynes' much lauded
0:40.5	the velvet underground, which reconsiders the figure of Lou Reed and premiered in the
0:45.6	Grande-Atra-Lumier to rapturous applause.
0:49.9	The word knobby comes from the noun Knob,-B, which is used in British English to mean one in a superior position in life.
0:58.0	This knob may have begun as a slang word for head, but a possible connection to noble has been suggested as well.
1:07.0	Appearing in English in the 18th century, Nabi was first used to describe people in society's upper echelons, in a way similar to that of a more
1:16.8	recent coinage, Posh. It has extended in usage to describe the places frequented by such people as well as their genteel
1:24.8	customs. Dickens for example wrote in his novel Bleakhouse of respecting this
1:31.4	unfortunate family matter and the naughtiest way of keeping it quiet.
1:36.6	With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
1:42.1	Visit Marion Webster
1:43.0	Webster.com today for definitions, word play, and trending word lookups.

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