https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Aristocracy_%28class%29Aristocracy (class) - Revision history2026-08-19T01:30:45ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aristocracy_(class)&diff=431236&oldid=prevAjay Kumar: Created a new article2023-09-28T20:05:08Z<p>Created a new article</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Upper social class}}<br />
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[[File:Sir Joshua Reynolds - The Ladies Waldegrave - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Ladies Waldegrave]]'', a portrait of three English aristocrats from the [[Earl Waldegrave|Waldegrave family]] by [[Joshua Reynolds]]]]<br />
[[File:0 Maincy - Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (2).JPG|thumb|A [[château]], the primary form of residence for the [[French nobility|French aristocracy]]]]<br />
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The '''aristocracy'''<ref>[https://www.dictionary.com/browse/aristocracy Definition of Aristocracy]</ref> is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" [[social class]]. In many states, the aristocracy included the [[upper class]] of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aristocracy, Definition (2) of Aristocracy]</ref> In some, such as [[ancient Greece]], [[ancient Rome]], or [[India]], aristocratic status came from belonging to a military class. It has also been common, notably in African societies, for aristocrats to belong to priestly dynasties. Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges.<ref>''The Aristocrats: a portrait of Britain's nobility and their way of life today'', by Roy Perrott, (London 1968), pp. 5–10.</ref> They are usually below only the monarch of a [[country]] or [[nation]] in its [[social hierarchy]].<ref>[https://www.lairdofblackwood.com/british-aristocracy/, Native Wood Preservation Ltd, on British Aristocracy and Hierarchy]</ref> In modern European societies, the aristocracy has often coincided with the [[nobility]], a specific class that arose in the [[Middle Ages]], but the term "aristocracy" is sometimes also applied to other [[elite]]s, and is used as a more generic term when describing earlier and non-European societies.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/aristocracy, Modern European societies and the nobility of aristocracy]</ref> Aristocracy may be abolished within a country as the result of a revolution against them, such as the [[French Revolution]].<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
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[[File:Carl Robert Mannerheim.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Count]] [[Carl Robert Mannerheim]] (1835–1914), aristocrat, businessman and father of [[Marshal of Finland|Marshal]] [[C. G. E. Mannerheim]].]]<br />
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The term [[aristocracy]] derives from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἀριστοκρατία}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|aristokratia}} from {{lang|grc|ἄριστος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|aristos}}) 'excellent' and {{lang|grc|κράτος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|kratos}}) 'power').<ref>''The Oxford Companion to British History'', John Cannon (editor), [[Oxford University Press]], 1997, {{ISBN|978-0-19-866176-4}}</ref> The royals and the aristocrats or people from noble descent were called "'''Blue Bloods'''" in medieval times in English language.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} In most cases, aristocratic titles were and are hereditary.<br />
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The term {{lang|grc-Latn|aristokratia}} was first used in [[Athens]] with reference to young [[citizen]]s (the men of the ruling class) who led armies at the front line. {{lang|grc-Latn|Aristokratia}} roughly translates to "rule of the best born". Due to [[Wikt:martial|martial]] bravery being highly regarded as a [[virtue]] in [[ancient Greece]], it was assumed that the armies were being led by "the best". This virtue was called {{lang|grc-Latn|[[arete]]}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἀρετή}}). Etymologically, as the word developed, it also produced a more political term: {{lang|grc-Latn|[[aristoi]]}} ({{lang|grc|ἄριστοι}}). The term aristocracy is a compound word stemming from the singular of {{lang|grc-Latn|aristoi}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|aristos}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|ἄριστος}}), and the Greek word for power, {{lang|grc-Latn|kratos}} ({{wikt-lang|grc|κράτος}}).<br />
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From the ancient Greeks, the term passed to the European [[Middle Ages]] for a similar ''hereditary class'' of military leaders, often referred to as [[nobility#European nobility|the nobility]]. As in Greece, this was a class of privileged men and women whose familial connections to the regional armies allowed them to present themselves as the most "noble" or "best" of society.<br />
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==See also==<br />
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* [[Gentry]]<br />
** [[Landed gentry]] (United Kingdom)<br />
** [[Landed gentry in China]]<br />
** [[Polish landed gentry|Landed gentry in Poland]]<br />
* [[Honorifics]]<br />
* [[Monarchy]]<br />
* [[Capitalism]]<br />
* [[Nobility]]<br />
** [[List of fictional nobility]]<br />
* [[Upper class]]<br />
* [[Imtiaz]] (Egypt)<br />
* [[Nigerian Chieftaincy|Chieftaincy]] (Nigeria)<br />
* [[Old money]]<br />
* [[Peerage]] (United Kingdom)<br />
* [[Royal and noble ranks]]<br />
* [[Style (manner of address)|Styles]] (manner of address)<br />
** [[Royal and noble styles]] (royal and noble)<br />
** [[Forms of address in the United Kingdom]]<br />
* [[Title]]s<br />
** [[Hereditary title]]<br />
** [[title of honor|Honorary titles]]<br />
** [[False titles of nobility]]<br />
* [[Social capital]]<br />
* [[Social environment]]<br />
* [[Symbolic capital]]<br />
* [[Honour]]<br />
* [[Moral responsibility]]<br />
* [[Yangban]] (Korea)<br />
* [[Kuge]] (Japan)<br />
* [[Zamindar]] or [[Jenmi]] (India)<br />
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==References==<br />
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{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
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{{Wikiquote|Aristocracy}}<br />
* [http://www.heraldica.org/topics/odegard/titlefaq.htm Heraldica: European Noble, Princely, Royal, and Imperial Titles]<br />
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{{Wiktionary|aristocracy}}<br />
{{Social class}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aristocracy (Class)}}<br />
[[Category:High society (social class)]]<br />
[[Category:Social classes]]<br />
[[Category:Nobility]]<br />
[[Category:Oligarchy]]<br />
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[[pl:Arystokracja]]</div>Ajay Kumar