aristocracy
noun
[ ˌarɪˈstɒkrəsi ]
• the highest class in certain societies, typically comprising people of noble birth holding hereditary titles and offices.
• "members of the aristocracy"
Similar:
the nobility,
the peerage,
the gentry,
the upper class,
the ruling class,
the privileged class,
the elite,
high society,
the establishment,
the patriciate,
the haut monde,
the beau monde,
aristocrats,
lords,
ladies,
peers,
peers of the realm,
nobles,
noblemen,
noblewomen,
titled men/women/people,
patricians,
the upper crust,
the jet set,
the beautiful people,
the crème de la crème,
the top drawer,
aristos,
nobs,
toffs,
Opposite:
the working class,
the common people,
the masses,
Origin:
late 15th century: 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 well born, hence the sense ‘nobility’, regardless of the form of government (mid 17th century).