highborn
/ˈhī-ˈbȯrn/ (ame, mw)
highborn — adjective
- highbornpositive
- more highborncomparative
- most highbornsuperlative
1. born into a family that belongs to the aristocracy or nobility, with inherited r
born into a family that belongs to the aristocracy or nobility, with inherited rank and social privilege — used mostly in historical or literary writing.
The novel follows a highborn young woman who refuses to marry the duke her father has chosen.
highborn + noun: typical attributive use before a person noun
Daniel discovered that his great-grandmother was highborn, descended from an old Hungarian noble family.
predicative use: be + highborn
Many highborn ladies of the medieval court learned Latin, music, and embroidery from private tutors.
Naoko played a highborn princess in the historical drama and spent weeks learning how to walk in heavy court robes.
Although Renata was highborn, she gave up her title and taught in a small village school.
- aristocratic
more common everyday word; can describe manner as well as birth
- noble
broader: covers both birth and moral character
- blue-blooded
informal idiom; often used jokingly about old aristocratic families
- patrician
formal; emphasises refined taste and old-family background, originally Roman
文法句型
highborn + noun
be + highborn
用法筆記
Almost always used attributively before a person noun (lady, lord, prince, gentleman) or in historical / literary contexts. In modern everyday English a Taiwanese learner is far more likely to meet 'aristocratic', 'noble', or 'from a noble family'.