ARISTOCRACY

gentry, aristocracy

(noun) the most powerful members of a society

nobility, aristocracy

(noun) a privileged class holding hereditary titles

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

aristocracy (countable and uncountable, plural aristocracies)

The nobility, or the hereditary ruling class.

Government by such a class, or a state with such a government

A class of people considered (not normally universally) superior to others

Source: Wiktionary


Ar`is*toc"ra*cy, n.; pl. Aristocracies. Etym: [Gr. arm, and orig. meant fitting: cf. F. aristocratie. See Arm, and Create, which is related to Gr.

1. Government by the best citizens.

2. A ruling body composed of the best citizens. [Obs.] In the Senate Right not our quest in this, I will protest them To all the world, no aristocracy. B. Jonson.

3. A form a government, in which the supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state, or in a privileged order; an oligarchy. The aristocracy of Venice hath admitted so many abuses, trough the degeneracy of the nobles, that the period of its duration seems approach. Swift.

4. The nobles or chief persons in a state; a privileged class or patrician order; (in a popular use) those who are regarded as superior to the rest of the community, as in rank, fortune, or intellect.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

13 January 2025

SOAK

(noun) the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid); “a good soak put life back in the wagon”


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