first estate

American  

noun

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

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first estate British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of first estate

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

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

The other, and, unfortunately, most numerous class, know how sadly they have fallen from their first estate.

From Minnesota; Its Character and Climate Likewise Sketches of Other Resorts Favorable to Invalids; Together With Copious Notes on Health; Also Hints to Tourists and Emigrants. by Bill, Ledyard

Strange language, if this was one of the angels who kept their first estate; one who never dwelt in flesh, nor inhabited a human body!

From Sermons on Various Important Subjects by Lee, Andrew

This misliked King Helgi most, that the gods were all burned up, and great was the cost or ever Baldur's Meadow was built anew fully equal to its first estate.

From The Story Of Frithiof The Bold 1875 by Morris, William