aristocracy

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aristocracy

rule by elite or privileged upper class: The governing body was composed of the country’s most powerful aristocracy.

Not to be confused with:

anarchy – the absence of laws or government: The fall of the empire was followed by chaos and anarchy.

democracy – government by the people: The United States is a democracy.

oligarchy – government by the few: The citizens have no voice in an oligarchy.

plutocracy – government in which the wealthy class rules: In a plutocracy, there is little regard for the poor.

ar·is·toc·ra·cy

(ăr′ĭ-stŏk′rə-sē)

n. pl. ar·is·toc·ra·cies

1. A hereditary ruling class; nobility.

a. Government by a ruling class.

b. A state or country having this form of government.

a. Government by the citizens deemed to be best qualified to lead.

b. 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.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

aristocracy

(ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsɪ)

n, pl -cies

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a privileged class of people usually of high birth; the nobility

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) such a class as the ruling body of a state

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government by such a class

4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a state governed by such a class

5. a class of people considered to be outstanding in a sphere of activity

[C16: from Late Latin aristocratia, from Greek aristokratia rule by the best-born, from aristos best; see -cracy]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ar•is•toc•ra•cy

(ˌær əˈstɒk rə si)

n., pl. -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 the best or most able people in the state.

4. a governing body composed of the best or most able people.

5. any class or group regarded as superior because of education, ability, or wealth.

[1555–65; (< Middle French aristocratie) < Medieval Latin aristocracia < Greek aristokratía=aristo(s) best, noblest + -kratia -ceacy]

aristocracy

1. government by the best people.
2. an upper class based on quality, nobility, etc.

Aristocracy

the nobles or chief officials in a state; the privileged class.

Example: aristocracy is the ruling body of the best citizens, 1531.

aristocracy

A ruling class which inherits wealth, special privileges, and titles; typically accompanied by a monarchy.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	aristocracy - a privileged class holding hereditary titles nobility elite, elite group - a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status noblesse - members of the nobility (especially of the French nobility) baronage, peerage - the peers of a kingdom considered as a group baronetage - the collective body of baronets knighthood - aristocrats holding the rank of knight samurai - feudal Japanese military aristocracy aristocrat, blue blood, patrician - a member of the aristocracy
	2.	aristocracy - the most powerful members of a society gentry upper class, upper crust - the class occupying the highest position in the social hierarchy landed gentry, squirearchy - the gentry who own land (considered as a class)

aristocracy

noun upper class, elite, nobility, gentry, peerage, ruling class, patricians, upper crust (informal), noblesse (literary), haut monde (French), patriciate, body of nobles a member of the aristocracy
masses, working classes, lower classes, commoners, proletariat, common people, hoi polloi, plebs, plebeians, proles (derogatory slang, chiefly Brit.)

Quotations
"An aristocracy in a republic is like a chicken whose head has been cut off; it may run about in a lively way, but in fact it is dead" [Nancy Mitford Noblesse Oblige]
"There is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talent" [Thomas Jefferson Letter to John Adams]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

aristocracy

noun

People of the highest social level:

blue blood, crème de la crème, elite, flower, gentility, gentry, nobility, patriciate, quality, society, upper class, who's who.

Informal: upper crust.

Translations

أرِسْتوقْراطِيَّه، حُكومَة الأشْراف

аристокрация

aristokraciešlechta

aristokratioverklasse

aristokracija

arisztokrácia

aîall

aristocrazia

特権階級貴族貴族政治

aristokratasaristokratijaaristokratiškaiaristokratiškas

aristokrātija

aristokrati overklasse

aristocracia

аристократия знать

aristokrasisoylular sınıfı

贵族

aristocracy

[ˌærɪsˈtɒkrəsɪ] N (= nobility) → aristocracia f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

aristocracy

[ˌærɪˈstɒkrəsi] n → aristocratie f
the aristocracy → l'aristocratie

aristocracy

n (system, state) → Aristokratie f; (= class also) → Adel m; aristocracy of wealth → Geldadel m, → Geldaristokratie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

aristocracy

[ˌærɪsˈtɒkrəsɪ] n → aristocrazia

aristocracy

(ӕrəˈstokrəsi) noun

in some countries, the nobility and others of the highest social class, who usually own land.

ˈaristocrat (-krӕt) , ((American) əˈristəkrӕt) noun

a member of the aristocracy.

ˌaristoˈcratic (-ˈkrӕ-) , ((American) əˌristəˈkrӕtik) adjective

(of people, behaviour etc) proud and noble-looking. an aristocratic manner.

ˌaristoˈcratically adverb

References in classic literature ?

Now of those principles on which the Carthaginians have established their mixed form of government, composed of an aristocracy and democracy, some incline to produce a democracy, others an oligarchy: for instance, if the kings and the senate are unanimous upon any point in debate, they can choose whether they will bring it before the people or no; but if they disagree, it is to these they must appeal, who are not only to hear what has been approved of by the senate, but are finally to determine upon it; and whosoever chooses it, has a right to speak against any matter whatsoever that may be proposed, which is not permitted in other cases.

The constitution of Carthage is now shifting from an aristocracy to an oligarchy, in consequence of an opinion which is favourably entertained by many, who think that the magistrates in the community ought not to be persons of family only, but of fortune also; as it is impossible for those who are in bad circumstances to support the dignity of their office, or to be at leisure to apply to public business.

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In order to arouse sympathy, the aristocracy were obliged to lose sight, apparently, of their own interests, and to formulate their indictment against the bourgeoisie in the interest of the exploited working class alone.

The aristocracy, in order to rally the people to them, waved the proletarian alms-bag in front for a banner.

View in context

We have no aristocracy of blood, and having therefore as a natural, and indeed as an inevitable thing, fashioned for ourselves an aristocracy of dollars, the display of wealth has here to take the place and perform the office of the heraldic display in monarchical countries.

But in America, the coins current being the sole arms of the aristocracy, their display may be said, in general, to be the sole means of the aristocratic distinction; and the populace, looking always upward for models,,are insensibly led to confound the two entirely separate ideas of magnificence and beauty.

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The barons, or nobles, equally the enemies of the sovereign and the oppressors of the common people, were dreaded and detested by both; till mutual danger and mutual interest effected a union between them fatal to the power of the aristocracy. Had the nobles, by a conduct of clemency and justice, preserved the fidelity and devotion of their retainers and followers, the contests between them and the prince must almost always have ended in their favor, and in the abridgment or subversion of the royal authority.

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Why, dear me,ANY kind of royalty, howsoever modified, ANY kind of aristocracy, howsoever pruned, is rightly an insult; but if you are born and brought up under that sort of arrangement you probably never find it out for yourself, and don't believe it when somebody else tells you.

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Him who answers to aristocracy, and whom we rightly call just and good, we have already described.

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"If you are the, what do you call it, the mouthpiece of the people, I do not see how you can be anything else than the enemy of the aristocracy."

View in context

And when our author says: "A robber shall Zarathustra be called by the herdsmen," it is clear that these words may be taken almost literally from one whose ideal was the rearing of a higher aristocracy. Again, "the good and just," throughout the book, is the expression used in referring to the self-righteous of modern times,-- those who are quite sure that they know all that is to be known concerning good and evil, and are satisfied that the values their little world of tradition has handed down to them, are destined to rule mankind as long as it lasts.

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But as we ascend in the social scale, the process of discriminating and being discriminated by hearing increases in difficulty, partly because voices are assimilated, partly because the faculty of voice-discrimination is a plebeian virtue not much developed among the Aristocracy. And wherever there is any danger of imposture we cannot trust to this method.