noun
the nobility in France and the peerage in Britain
• Syn: ↑Lords Temporal
• Regions:
↑United Kingdom, ↑UK, ↑U.K., ↑Britain, ↑United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ↑Great Britain, ↑France, ↑French Republic
• Hypernyms: ↑estate of the realm, ↑estate, ↑the three estates
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the second of the three estates: the nobles in France; the lords temporal in England. Cf. estate (def. 5).
[1930-35]
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second estate or Second Estate,
the nobility, as distinguished from the clergy and the common people, especially in French history.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.