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.

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

They walked hand in hand for the last time in this, their first estate.

From Added Upon A Story by Anderson, Nephi

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

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

He might possibly have merely, when renouncing his toil over the up-grade of life, slipped back to his first estate, and thus have experienced in one sense no change at all.

From Jerome, A Poor Man A Novel by Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins

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