noun
the clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain
• Syn: ↑Lords Spiritual
• 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 first of the three estates: the clergy in France; the Lords Spiritual in England. Cf. estate (def. 5).
[1930-35]
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first estate or First Estate,
the clergy, as distinguished from the nobility and the common people, especially in French history.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.