squirearchy

English

Alternative forms

• squirarchy

Etymology

squire +‎ -archy

Noun

squirearchy (plural squirearchies)

1. The landowning gentry.
   • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 3, in Babbitt:

     Now, as one of the squirearchy, greeted with honorable salutations by the villagers, he marched into his office, and peace and dignity were upon him, and the morning's dissonances all unheard.

   • 1930 [Cambridge University Press], G. G. Coulton, The Medieval Scene: An Informal Introduction to the Middle Ages, 2000, Dover, page 37,

     We may characterise medieval village government not unfairly as squirearchy, though often a benevolent squirearchy enough, just as the squirearchy of the eighteenth century was often benevolent also.

   • 1972, James A. Burkhart, Samuel Krislov, Raymond Lawrence Lee, American Government: the Clash of Issues, Prentice-Hall, page 92:

     For many years a combination of rural squirearchies and business interests held tight control of most state capitols.

Translations

landowning gentry

• Bulgarian: земевладелци (bg) m pl (zemevladelci)
• Danish: landadel c
• Dutch: landadel (nl)
• French: noblesse de provence f

References

• “squirearchy”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Joseph Wright, editor (1905), “SQUIREARCHY”, in The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volume V (R–S), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC.

Further reading

• Landed gentry on Wikipedia.Wikipedia