THE THREE ESTATES

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does the three estates mean? 

• THE THREE ESTATES (noun)
  The noun THE THREE ESTATES has 1 sense:

1. a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights

  Familiarity information: THE THREE ESTATES used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THE THREE ESTATES (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

estate; estate of the realm; the three estates

Hypernyms ("the three estates" is a kind of...):

class; social class; socio-economic class; stratum (people having the same social, economic, or educational status)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

France; French Republic (a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "the three estates"):

first estate; Lords Spiritual (the clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain)

Lords Temporal; second estate (the nobility in France and the peerage in Britain)

Commons; third estate (the common people)

fourth estate (the press, including journalists, newspaper writers, photographers)

Holonyms ("the three estates" is a part of...):

body politic; commonwealth; country; land; nation; res publica; state (a politically organized body of people under a single government)