nobility, aristocracy

a privileged class holding hereditary titles

• noblesse — members of the nobility (especially of the French nobility)
• peerage, baronage — the peers of a kingdom considered as a group
• second estate, lords temporal — the second estate of the realm: the nobility (especially British nobility) of the rank of duke or marquess or earl or viscount or baron
• knighthood — aristocrats holding the rank of knight
• samurai — feudal Japanese military aristocracy
• Ferdinand and Isabella — joint monarchs of Spain; Ferdinand V and Isabella I
• William and Mary — joint monarchs of England; William III and Mary II

• elite — a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status

• aristocrat, blue blood, patrician — a member of the aristocracy