highborn
adjective
highborn is an adjective meaning “Of, pertaining to, or befitting people of high social standing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled H-I-G-H-B-O-R-N, and it appears about once in every 12 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does highborn mean?
adjective
- 1
archaicOf high social standing as a result of having been born a member of an upper-level social class.
- 2
archaicBorn a member of an upper-level social class (although not necessarily retaining high social standing)
The references to the lady's long-standing affection for her loyal, high-born servant girl provide a succinct intimation that the lady herself is not a wholly repellent character.
- 3
Of, pertaining to, or befitting people of high social standing.
In this illustrious throng, your lofty flood Swells high, fair confluence of all highborn Blood.
- 4
Of superior or premium quality; magnificent; expensive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of highborn
- high-born
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is highborn?
Highborn appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 105,204th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Highborn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of, pertaining to or befitting people of high social standing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bien né |
| German | hochgeboren |
| Spanish | de alta cuna |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does highborn come from?
From high + born.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).