his nob en · NOUN
Etymology
From nob, mimicking a form of address such as Your Highness.
Meanings
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(qualifier:chiefly cribbage) A jack; a knave.
Cribbage is a most virtuous and respectable game, and yet scarcely, one would think, possessing in itself sufficient attractions to keep a young gentleman in his twentieth year tied to the board, and going through the quaint calculation night after night of "fifteen two, fifteen four, two for his nob, and one for his heels."
1860, Thomas Hughes, “Tom Brown at Oxford”, in Macmillan's magazine, volume 1:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| his knob | alternative | lexicographic | |
| his nobs | alternative | lexicographic | |
| his nibs | alternative | lexicographic | |
| His Nobs | alternative | lexicographic | |
| His Nibs | alternative | lexicographic |