aristocracy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌæɹ.ɪˈstɒk.ɹə.si/ (UK); /ˌɛɹ.ɪˈstɑ.kɹə.si/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French aristocratie,^[2][3][4][5] from Late Latin aristocratia (“government by the best”),^[6][2][3][4] from Ancient Greek ἀριστοκρατία (aristokratía, “rule of the best”),^{[6][2][3][4][5]} from Ancient Greek ἄριστος (áristos, “best”) + κράτος (krátos, “power, rule”) (see -cracy).^{[6][2][3][4][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The government of a state by its best citizens (1531 in the OED; 1561 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^{[7][2][4][3][8]}

Semantic evolution

In early use the word was contrasted with monarchy; after the French and American revolutions, with democracy.^[3][7] The sense “rule by a privileged class distinguished by birth or wealth” appears in the 1570s and became the main one in the 17th century.^[3][7][8] From this came “the class of hereditary nobles” (1610s in Etymonline; 1651 in the OED), regardless of the form of government,^[3][7][8] and from the 1650s any group considered superior to others.^[3][6] Aristocrat (1789) came from French aristocrate, popularized during the French Revolution.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1531 – government by the best citizens.^[7]
• 1577 – government by a privileged class.^[7]
• 1611 – a ruling body of nobles.^[7]
• 1651 – the nobility as a class.^[7]
• 1789 – aristocrat.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A hereditary ruling class; the nobility.
2. Government by a ruling class or by a small privileged group, or a state so governed.
3. Government by those considered best qualified to lead, or a state with such a government.
4. A group or class considered superior to others, as through education, wealth or ability.

Word family

• antiaristocracy

Related words

• aristocrat
• aristocratic
• democracy
• autocracy
• plutocracy
• oligarchy

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press