|
| ar·is·toc·ra·cy [ àrri stókrəssee ] (plural ar·is·toc·ra·cies) |
noun |
|
| Definition: |
| |
1. people of highest social class: people of noble families or the highest social class
|
2. superior group: a group believed to be superior to all others of the same kind
|
3. government by elite: government of a country by a small group of people, especially a hereditary nobility
|
4. state run by elite: a state governed by an aristocracy
|
| [15th century. Via French aristocratie< Greek aristokratia "rule by the best" < aristos "best" + kratos "power, rule" (see -cracy)] |
