aristocracy
ar·is·toc·ra·cy / ˌariˈstäkrəsē/ • n. (pl. -cies) [treated as sing. or pl.] (usu. the aristocracy) the highest class in certain societies, esp. those holding hereditary titles or offices. ∎ a form of government in which power is held by the nobility. ∎ a state governed in this way. ∎ fig. a group regarded as privileged or superior in a particular sphere: high-level technocrats make up a large part of this “technical aristocracy.”ORIGIN: late 15th cent.: from Old French aristocratie, from Greek aristokratia, from aristos ‘best’ + -kratia ‘power.’ The term originally denoted the government of a state by its best citizens, later by the rich and wellborn, hence the sense ‘nobility,’ regardless of the form of government (mid 17th cent.).