adjective
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owning land
landed gentry
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consisting of or including land
a landed estate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of landed
before 1000; late Middle English ( see land, -ed 3); replacing Old English gelandod (rare), past participle of *landian to endow with land ( -ed 2 )
Explanation
If someone is landed, it means they own property or acreage, and they probably inherited it. In 17th and 18th century England, owners of country estates were known as the landed gentry. This adjective almost always comes before "gentry" or "aristocracy," referring to an entire category of wealthy people. It's a bit old-fashioned, but you can still call use it for upper-class land owners. Your cousin, lucky enough to have the family estate handed down to him, is a member of the landed gentry. Landed can also describe the land itself, when someone inherits it: "The landed property was about fifty acres."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“One where we’re divided, angry, depressed? C’mon! We’re Americans! Fascism? We conquered it. The Moon? Landed on it. The future? Building it. Freedom? Nobody loves it more.”
From Salon • Aug. 20, 2024
Landed aristocrats, generally descended from tribal chieftains, were replaced by mandarins selected by Confucian exams.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Landed some additional punch beyond top line for an offense ranking just 14th in goals per game by adding Evgenii Dadonov from the Canadiens and Max Domi from Chicago.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 3, 2023
Another effort: working with Landed, a group that helps teachers get home loans in high-priced markets.
From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2022
And hiding behind the facade of my father’s book, this is what I heard: The Aliens Have Landed in Lake Forest CADE: Hi.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
