Synonyms

first estate

American

noun

the first of the three estates: the clergy in France; the Lords Spiritual in England.

first estate British

noun

the first of the three estates of the realm, such as the Lords Spiritual in England or the clergy in France until the revolution

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of first estate

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

See Examples For:

first estate

When I attended my first estate sale in November at a Beverly Hills home, a stunning vintage Teac A-7010 tape recorder caught my attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023

Anson MacAuslan was among the first estate managers to secure funding from Peatland Action — a project funded by the Scottish government to restore peatlands.

From Nature ● Feb. 11, 2020

Paradise will come again; this world will, for a thousand years, see its first estate; it will be again the Garden of Eden.

From Solomon by Constance Fenimore Woolson

Man's first estate is the spirit life; his second estate, the mortal life.

From Elias An Epic of the Ages by Orson F. Whitney

Had man retained his first estate, his joy of this kind would have been full.

From Sermons on Various Important Subjects by Andrew Lee

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023