noble savage
noble savage noun: a stock character embodying the concept of an idealized indigene or outsider who has not been corrupted by civilization and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness.
Noun
noble savage (plural noble savages)
- A stock character embodying the concept of an idealized indigene or outsider who has not been corrupted by civilization and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness.
- It seemed hardly possible that by such comparatively small mouthfuls he could keep up the vitality diffused through so broad, baronial, and superb a person. But, doubtless, this noble savage fed strong and drank deep of the abounding element of air; and through his dilated nostrils snuffed in the...1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 34, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 167
- The Isángú, or Ingwánba, the craving felt after a short abstinence from animal food, does not spare the white traveller more than it does his dark guides; and, though the moral courage of the former may resist the "gastronomic practice" of breaking fast upon a fat young slave, one does not expect...1876, Richard F[rancis] Burton, Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo. […], part I (The Gaboon River and Gorilla Land), London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, […], →OCLC
noble savage meaning in Thai
noble savage in Thai
- stock character
- คนเถื่อนใจธรรม
Examples of noble savage in a sentence
- But, doubtless, this noble savage fed strong and drank deep of the abounding element of air; and through his dilated nostrils snuffed in the sublime life of the worlds.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 34, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers...
- It is written that the noble savage must never express surprise in the presence of the white.1911, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “The Children are Carried Off”, in Peter and Wendy, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Charles...
- Here the problem is aggravated by the mutually reinforcing influences of the ‘black legend’ of Spanish greed and cruelty, and the contrasting myth of the American Indian as ‘noble savage’.1992, Edwin Williamson, The Penguin history of Latin America, London; New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 84:
Forms of noble savage
| plural | noble savages |
|---|
Origin of noble savage
First appeared in John Dryden's heroic play The Conquest of Granada (1672), where it was used by the son of a Christian prince, believing himself a Spanish Muslim, in reference to himself.
Questions about noble savage
- What does noble savage mean?
- Noble savage means a stock character embodying the concept of an idealized indigene or outsider who has not been corrupted by civilization and therefore symbolizes humanity's innate goodness.
- What is noble savage in Thai?
- Noble savage in Thai is คนเถื่อนใจธรรม. See Noble savage meaning in Thai.
- How do you use noble savage in a sentence?
- But, doubtless, this noble savage fed strong and drank deep of the abounding element of air; and through his dilated nostrils snuffed in the sublime life of the worlds.
- What part of speech is noble savage?
- Noble savage is a noun.
- What is the plural of noble savage?
- The plural of noble savage is noble savages.
Words near noble savage in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: noble savage (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “noble savage.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/noble_savage. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.