squirearchy

or squir·ar·chy

[ skwahyuhr-ahr-kee ]

noun,plural squire·ar·chies.
  1. the collective body of squires or landed gentry of a country.

  2. the social, economic, and political class formed by the landed gentry.

Origin of squirearchy

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; squire + -archy

Other words from squirearchy

  • squire·ar·chal, squire·ar·chi·cal, adjective

Words Nearby squirearchy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use squirearchy in a sentence

  • A league was now formed by the bureaucracy, the orthodox clergy, the provincial squirearchy, and some of the proletariat.

    The Prussian Terror | Alexandre Dumas
  • Are the coronets of the nobility to be put up to sale like the acres of the squirearchy?

    Davenport Dunn, Volume 1 (of 2) | Charles James Lever
  • He sketched out a system by which this new squirearchy was to be dealt with,—how courted, flattered, and rewarded.

    Davenport Dunn, Volume 1 (of 2) | Charles James Lever
  • He had been made to understand clearly that it would be better that he should not enter in upon his squirearchy early in life.

    The American Senator | Anthony Trollope
  • A few years since some of the most strenuous opponents of railways were to be found among the squirearchy.

    Old Roads and New Roads | William Bodham Donne

British Dictionary definitions for squirearchy

squirearchy

squirarchy

/ (ˈskwaɪəˌrɑːkɪ) /


nounplural -chies
  1. government by squires

  2. squires collectively, esp as a political or social force

Origin of squirearchy

1
C19: from squire + -archy, on the model of hierarchy, monarchy, etc

Derived forms of squirearchy

  • squirearchal, squirarchal, squirearchical or squirarchical, adjective

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