farmer-general

American  

[fahr-mer-jen-er-uhl] / ˈfɑr mərˈdʒɛn ər əl /

noun

plural

farmers-general

1. (in France, under the old monarchy) a member of a company of capitalists that farmed certain taxes.

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farmer-general British  

noun

1. (in France before 1789) a member of a group allowed to farm certain taxes

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Other Word Forms

• farmer-generalship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of farmer-general

1705–15; translation of French fermier-général

Example Sentences

The two men and the farmer-general weighed on us.

From The Works of Honor? de Balzac About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita and Other Stories by Balzac, Honor? de

An old farmer-general, an intellectual and unprejudiced man, gravely attempts to justify the purchase of Saint-Cloud by calling it "a ring for the queen's finger."

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

Wherever they settled there was a kind of feud between them and the old nobility and gentry, similar to that which raged in France between the farmer-general and the marquess.

From Critical and Historical Essays — Volume 1 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron

It was discovered that the Faubourg Saint-Germain mansion had been sold, before the Revolution, to an Englishman, together with all the country-seats and estates and all the jewels, securities and collections belonging to the farmer-general.

From The Confessions of Arsène Lupin by Leblanc, Maurice

I wish I had the regulation of such a farm,—yet I am no farmer-general.

From The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay — Volume 2 by Burney, Fanny