aristocracy
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
aristocracy/arɪˈstɒkrəsi/
▶noun (pl. aristocracies) [treated as sing. or pl.] a class of society comprising people of noble birth with hereditary titles.
■ a form of government in which power is held by the nobility.
– origin C15: from OFr. aristocratie, from Gk aristokratia, from aristos ‘best’ + -kratia ‘power’.
'aristocracy' also found in these Oxford entries:
aristocrat
- boyar
- breeding
- commoner
- diplomacy
- Junker
- nobility
- noble
- nobleman
- upper class
