the three estates

Definitions of the three estates

1. noun

   a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights
   synonyms: estate, estate of the realm

   types:

   Lords Spiritual, first estate

   the clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain

   Lords Temporal, second estate

   the nobility in France and the peerage in Britain

   Commons, third estate

   the common people

   fourth estate

   the press, including journalists, newspaper writers, photographers

   type of:

   class, social class, socio-economic class, stratum

   people having the same social, economic, or educational status