grandee

[gran-dee]

noun

1. a man of high social position or eminence, especially a Spanish or Portuguese nobleman.

grandee

/ ɡrænˈdiː /

noun

1. a Spanish or Portuguese prince or nobleman of the highest rank

2. a man of great rank or eminence

Other Word Forms

• grandeeship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandee¹

1590–1600; < Spanish, Portuguese grande, with ending assimilated to -ee

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandee¹

C16: from Spanish grande

Example Sentences

Ms. Cheever began to understand that his stories came at least partly from the tension between his private feelings of shame and the effort to maintain his respectability as a literary grandee and paterfamilias.

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One grandee tells me: "We need to regain our senses and remember we were totally thrashed last summer and have not yet been forgiven. More shenanigans won't help."

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The former Olympic athlete, who has died at the age of 84, had an urbane manner and "grandee" style, although it belied more humble origins.

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However, a Welsh Labour grandee said the party was facing "the biggest kicking in our history".

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The responses demonstrated the conflicted attitude many in Labour clearly felt towards a party grandee they saw as both a masterful political operator and a deeply flawed man.

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Related Words

• aristocrat 
• blue blood 
• emperor 
• patrician