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Aristocracy - 5 dictionary results

ar⋅is⋅toc⋅ra⋅cy

  [ar-uh-stok-ruh-see]
Use Aristocracy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -cies.
1. a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, esp. the hereditary nobility.
2. a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class.
3. government by those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
4. a governing body composed of those considered to be the best or most able people in the state.
5. any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.
Origin:
1555–65; (< MF aristocratie) < ML aristocracia (var. of -tia) < Gk aristokratía rule of the best. See aristo-, -cracy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ar·is·toc·ra·cy   (ār'ĭ-stŏk'rə-sē)   
n.   pl. ar·is·toc·ra·cies
  1. A hereditary ruling class; nobility.
    1. Government by a ruling class.
    2. A state or country having this form of government.
    3. Government by the citizens deemed to be best qualified to lead.
    4. A state having such a government.
    1. Government by the citizens deemed to be best qualified to lead.
    2. A state having such a government.
  4. A group or class considered superior to others.

[Late Latin aristocratia, government by the best, from Greek aristokratiā : aristos, best; see ar- in Indo-European roots + -kratiā, -cracy.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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. --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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Aristocracy
Spanish: aristocracia,
German: die Aristokratie,
Japanese: 貴族階級
More Translations »

aristocracy

A privileged, primarily hereditary ruling class, or a form of government controlled by such an elite.

Note: Traditionally, the disproportionate concentration of wealth, social status, and political influence in the aristocracy has been resented by the middle class and lower class.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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aristocracy 
1561, from L.L. aristocratia, from Gk. aristokratia "government, rule of the best," from aristos "best" (originally "most fitting," from PIE *ar-isto-, superlative form of *ar- "to fit together") + kratos "rule, power" (see -cracy). At first in a literal sense; meaning "rule by a privileged class (best-born or best-favored by fortune)" is from 1577 and became paramount 17c. Hence, the meaning "patrician order" (1651); and aristocratic "grand, stylish" (1845). In early use contrasted with monarchy; after Fr. and Amer. revolutions, with democracy. Aristocrat first recorded 1789, from Fr. aristocrate.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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