Definition of Aristocracy

Arena

ARISTOCRACY noun

	Government by the best men. (In this sense the word is obsolete; so is that kind of government.) Fellows that wear downy hats and clean shirts -- guilty of education and suspected of bank accounts.

		definition from: *The Devil's Dictionary* by Ambrose Bierce, 1911

Armor

Regular definition:

ARISTOCRACY:
?ær?s?t?kr?s? n. (pl. -ies) 1 a the highest class in society; the nobility. b the nobility as a ruling class. 2 a government by the nobility or a privileged group. b a State governed in this way. 3 (often foll. by of) the best representatives or upper echelons (aristocracy of intellect; aristocracy of labour). [F aristocratie f. Gk aristokratia f. aristos best + kratia (as -CRACY)]

Last updated: 9/3/2011 12:48:30