third estate

American  

noun

1. the third of the three estates or political orders: the commons in France or England.

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third estate British  

noun

1. the third order or class in a country or society divided into estates, esp for representation in a parliament; the commons, townsmen, or middle class

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Etymology

Origin of third estate

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

third estate

And now the fencing has come to the Supreme Court, to the third estate.

From Washington Post ● May 10, 2022

The term had a special resonance with his Francophone audience because it recalled the third estate, “tiers-état,” of the French Revolution.

From Time ● Aug. 26, 2015

Many of the cahiers of the third estate demand that no treaty of commerce should be entered into without previous consultation with the industries interested.

From Principles of Political Economy, Vol. II by Wilhelm Roscher

The diet now advanced to the work of framing a constitution; while the representatives of the third estate were, in the meanwhile, admitted to a seat in the assembly.

From The American Quarterly Review No. XVIII, June 1831 (Vol 9) by Various

The third estate in France was divided into the bourgeoisie and the peasantry and small artisans.

From History of Human Society by Frank W. (Frank Wilson) Blackmar