third estate

American  

noun

1. the third of the three estates or political orders: the commons in France or England.

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third estate British  

noun

1. the third order or class in a country or society divided into estates, esp for representation in a parliament; the commons, townsmen, or middle class

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Etymology

Origin of third estate

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

And now the fencing has come to the Supreme Court, to the third estate.

From Washington Post • May 10, 2022

The term had a special resonance with his Francophone audience because it recalled the third estate, “tiers-état,” of the French Revolution.

From Time • Aug. 26, 2015

In 1789 he was elected by the third estate of the s�n�chauss�e of Annonay as deputy to the states-general.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 "Bohemia" to "Borgia, Francis" by Various

The third estate wanted civil liberty above all; political liberty came second only, as a means and guarantee for the former.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 7 "Fox, George" to "France" by Various

A daring enthusiast, in 1789 he was elected, on account of his revolutionary principles, by the third estate of Artois, to a seat in the Constituent Assembly.

From Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 4 A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)