Peerage of England
The ranks of the English peerage are, in descending order, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. While most newer English peerages descend only in the male line, many of the older ones (particularly older baronies) can descend through females. Under English inheritance law all daughters are co-heirs, so many older English peerage titles have fallen into abeyance between various female co-heirs.
Noblesse
As such, a Scottish armiger is recognized under Scottish heraldic law as within the non-peerage rank of Gentleman, which is so recognized under Scots law as a social dignity. Given this court decision, the term "nobility" should be avoided, as it has long been confined in Britain to the peerage, or someone of official social rank (Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts, Barons, etc.). Instead, it is more appropriate to use the term Noblesse in the context of the French definition, which includes the non-peerage rank of Gentlemen. A Gentleman is the lowest rank of gentry, standing below an esquire and above a yeoman. It includes the untitled and minor nobility - the "noblesse", to whom rightly belong lairds (those with territorial designations), Esquires and Gentlemen, "known" through the grant or matriculation of armorial bearings.