second estate

American  

noun

1. the second of the three estates: the nobles in France; the lords temporal in England.

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second estate British  

noun

1. rare the nobility collectively

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Etymology

Origin of second estate

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

This second estate, an extension of land seized by King Henry III in 1265, encompasses 45,000 acres in England and Wales.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2023

Durazo's second estate, in the Pacific resort town of Zihuatanejo, dubbed "the Parthenon," features decorative fountains, statues and marble-and-gold bathrooms.

From Time Magazine Archive

This is called the second estate of man.

From A Rational Theology As Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Widtsoe, John A.

In passing the veil which separates between the first and second estates, man becomes unconscious, and, on awakening in his second estate, a veil is wisely thrown over all the past.

From Key to the Science of Theology by Pratt, Parley P.

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.