black nobility

noun

The Roman aristocratic families who sided with the papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace; and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the Pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

Similar
black aristocracy
OriginItalian nobiltà nera →
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Meanings

noun
  1. The Roman aristocratic families who sided with the papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace; and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the Pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

    Synonyms: black aristocracy

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe Roman aristocratic families who sided with the papacy under Pope Pius IX after the Savoy family-led army of the Kingdom of Italy entered Rome on 20 September 1870, overthrew the Pope and the Papal States, and took over the Quirinal Palace; and any nobles subsequently ennobled by the Pope prior to the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

Similar
black aristocracy
Also see
black aristocracy

Origin

  1. Italiannobiltà nera
  2. Englishblack nobility

Calque of Italian nobiltà nera

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

black nobility. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20nobility

MLA

“black nobility.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20nobility. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “black nobility,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20nobility.

Source: black nobility on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.