aristocracy
n. noble class, privileged class | ||||
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Aristocracy definition was found in categories: Language, Idioms & Slang(5) Social Science(1) Encyclopedia(1)
Aristocracy Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |
Aristocracy
(n.)
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.
(n.)
Government by the best citizens.
(n.)
A ruling body composed of the best citizens.
(n.)
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.
(n.)
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.
(n.)
Government by the best citizens.
(n.)
A ruling body composed of the best citizens.
(n.)
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.
| WordNet 2.0 |
aristocracy
Noun
1. a privileged class holding hereditary titles
(synonym) nobility
(hypernym) elite, elite group
(hyponym) noblesse
(member-meronym) aristocrat, blue blood, patrician
2. the most powerful members of a society
(synonym) gentry
(hypernym) upper class, upper crust
(hyponym) landed gentry, squirearchy
Noun
1. a privileged class holding hereditary titles
(synonym) nobility
(hypernym) elite, elite group
(hyponym) noblesse
(member-meronym) aristocrat, blue blood, patrician
2. the most powerful members of a society
(synonym) gentry
(hypernym) upper class, upper crust
(hyponym) landed gentry, squirearchy
| The Devil's Dictionary |
ARISTOCRACY
Aristocracy, (n.)
Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts -- guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts.
Aristocracy, (n.)
Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts -- guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts.
| hEnglish - advanced version |
aristocracy
aristocracy
\ar`is*toc"ra*cy\ (&?;), n.; pl. aristocracies (&?;). [gr. &?;; &?; best + &?; to be strong, to rule, &?; strength; &?; is perh. from the same root as e. 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. 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.
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.
aristocracy
\ar`is*toc"ra*cy\ (&?;), n.; pl. aristocracies (&?;). [gr. &?;; &?; best + &?; to be strong, to rule, &?; strength; &?; is perh. from the same root as e. 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. 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.
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.
| for Vocabulary Exams of KPDS, YDS,UDS (in Turkey); and SAT in America |
aristocracy
A hereditary nobility
A hereditary nobility
| A Glossary of Political Economy Terms |
Aristocracy
A privileged social class whose members possess disproportionately large shares of a society's wealth, social prestige, educational attainment and political influence, with these advantages having been acquired principally through gift or inheritance from a long line of similarly privileged and cultivated ancestors. The term refers also to a form of government in which the state is effectively controlled by the members of such a class. The term tends to have a somewhat unsavory or derogatory connotation today in the light of democratic theories, but in classical political philosophy it meant rule by "the best people" of the society, who were expected to feel a paternalistic concern for the humbler members of the society that would keep them from ruling in a purely self-seeking fashion.
A privileged social class whose members possess disproportionately large shares of a society's wealth, social prestige, educational attainment and political influence, with these advantages having been acquired principally through gift or inheritance from a long line of similarly privileged and cultivated ancestors. The term refers also to a form of government in which the state is effectively controlled by the members of such a class. The term tends to have a somewhat unsavory or derogatory connotation today in the light of democratic theories, but in classical political philosophy it meant rule by "the best people" of the society, who were expected to feel a paternalistic concern for the humbler members of the society that would keep them from ruling in a purely self-seeking fashion.
[See also: oligarchy]
Aristocracy Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
| Wikipedia English - The Free Encyclopedia |
Aristocracy
The term aristocracy refers to a form of government where power is held by a small number of individuals from a social elite or from noble families. The transmission of power is often hereditary. In common usage, the term is often a synonym for the nobility, mainly hereditary, of Europe and other parts of the world, regardless of how much political power they have.
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