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 on the Denver Post’s All-Colorado first team and named co-offensive MVP of the Southern League.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2022
“D-Day. Landed 0730 June 6, 1944. Used this chart during stay on the beach.”
From Washington Post • Jul. 5, 2022
“First manned flight to the moon. Landed July twentieth, 1969.”
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
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.
