noun

aristocrat

uh-RIS-tuh-krat/əˈrɪstəkræt/

A person belonging to a noble or privileged social class.

The young aristocrat inherits a title and a large country estate.

A British nobleman in eighteenth-century peerage robes holds a small coronet at his waist, making hereditary noble rank visible rather than merely suggesting wealth.

Etymology

“Best” and “rule” originally described government by the best citizens. As “best” came to mean privileged by birth or wealth, an aristocrat became a member of that upper class.

In context

Crossroads of Epochs32:15

of the Great Siege. They were no longer required to be hardened warriors. Instead, the order became a finishing school for the younger sons of Europe's noblest families. A young aristocrat would come to Malta

HOSPITALLERS: Forswearing the Oath? From Monks to Pirates.

More examples

The portrait depicts an aristocrat in formal dress.
Several aristocrats supported the reform movement.
She rejected the privileges expected of an aristocrat.

Forms

aristocrat · aristocrats

Similar words

noble: Usually a person with an officially recognized hereditary title.
patrician: Often an established upper-class person without a formal noble title.