first estate

American  

noun

1. the first of the three estates: the clergy in France; the Lords Spiritual in England.

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first estate British  

noun

1. the first of the three estates of the realm, such as the Lords Spiritual in England or the clergy in France until the revolution

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Etymology

Origin of first estate

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first estate

When I attended my first estate sale in November at a Beverly Hills home, a stunning vintage Teac A-7010 tape recorder caught my attention.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023

Anson MacAuslan was among the first estate managers to secure funding from Peatland Action — a project funded by the Scottish government to restore peatlands.

From Nature ● Feb. 11, 2020

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.

They make Christ to come before Anti-Christ, and Anti-Christ to come before the Jews and Ten Lost Tribes are gathered together again and settled after their first estate in Palestine. 

From The Lost Ten Tribes, and 1882 by Wild, Joseph

This work would have been incumbent on man had he retained his first estate.

From Sermons on Various Important Subjects by Lee, Andrew