"noblesse oblige" means, literally, "nobility obliges, or performs service", though it is normally used as a noun phrase that might best be translated as "the obligation of the nobility."
The Dictionnaire de l’Académie française defines it thus:
1. Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly. 2. (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms with one's position, and with the reputation that one has earned.
The Dictionnaire de l’Académie française defines it thus:
1. Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly.
2. (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms with one's position, and with the reputation that one has earned.