third estate

American  

noun

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

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of third estate

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Tacitly or expressly, the Third-Estate refuses to restrict its mandate and allows no barriers to be interposed against it.

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

You have been kept in ignorance of the fermentation which is at its height among all classes of the Third-Estate, and a spark will kindle the conflagration.

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

Thus do they interpret in their own way and in their own terms the double representation accorded to the Third-Estate.

From The French Revolution - Volume 1 by Durand, John

A fifth of the soil belongs to the crown and the communes, a fifth to the Third-Estate, a fifth to the rural population, a fifth to the nobles and a fifth to the clergy.

From The Ancient Regime by Durand, John

For three weeks, the Third-Estate Carroccio, with far-seen Gonfalon, has stood stockstill, flouting the wind; waiting what force would gather round it.

From The French Revolution by Carlyle, Thomas