aristocracy

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French aristocratie, from Medieval Latin *aristocratia, from Ancient Greek ἀριστοκρατίᾱ (aristokratíā, “the rule of the best“, that is, “the best-born”, “nobility”), from ἄριστος (áristos, “best, noblest”) + -κρατίᾱ (-kratíā), from κράτος (krátos, “power, rule”). By surface analysis, aristo- + -cracy.

noun

1. The nobility, or the hereditary ruling class.
   That, then, which is called aristocracy in some countries and nobility in others arose out of the governments founded upon conquest. 1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
2. Government by such a class, or a state with such a government
3. A class of people considered (not normally universally) superior to others