second estate

American

noun

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

second estate British

noun

rare the nobility collectively

"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 second 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.

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

"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; ... and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever."

From Added Upon A Story by Anderson, Nephi

F. What was the second estate seen in the vision?

From The Rocky Island and Other Similitudes by Wilberforce, Samuel

"That a month ago Eric took over his father's second estate by the Immensee."

From Immensee by Storm, Theodor

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