ancien régime

[ ahn-syan rey-zheem ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, French.

, plural an·ciens ré·gimes [ah, n, -sya, n, , r, ey-, zheem].

ancien régime

/ ɑ̃sjɛ̃ reʒim /

ancien régime

The political and social order that prevailed in France before the French Revolution , built on a belief in absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings .

First recorded in 1790–95; from French; literally, “old rule”

literally: old regime

He has been criticized for calling for revolution without saying what will replace the ancien régime.

At last we talked of the Duchesse, and we discussed her interesting character, such a marvel of the ancien régime!

They seem to unite the stoicism of the American Indian to the politeness of the Frenchman of the ancien régime.

It occupied a kind of middle ground between the ancien régime and pure liberalism.

Certainly the stars in their courses fought against the ancien régime.

One educational foundation of the ancien régime, however, still survives, in the bursaries of the Abbé Bouzier.

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