patriciate

[ puh-trish-ee-it, ‐eyt ]

/ pəˈtrɪʃ i ɪt, ‐ˌeɪt /

the patrician class.

patrician rank.

Origin of patriciate

1650–60; < Medieval Latin patriciātus equivalent to Latin patrici(us) (see patrician) + -ātus -ate¹

The families eligible to the Council composed the Patriciate, the origin of which can no longer be traced in detail.

The Story of Nuremberg |Cecil Headlam
We have still to speak of the directly political functions of the rich, or, as M. Comte terms them, the patriciate.

August Comte and Positivism |John-Stuart Mill
We are at one in this: the praetorian guard will follow my dictates, the patriciate of Rome will bow the knee to thee.

"Unto Caesar" |Baroness Emmuska Orczy
But at first it took on no constant form, because, by not abolishing the patriciate, it left half its work undone.

The Social Contract & Discourses |Jean-Jacques Rousseau

It was impossible to impose upon all these nations, without modification, the rigid law of the Roman patriciate.

The Two First Centuries of Florentine History |Pasquale Villari

patriciate

/ (pəˈtrɪʃɪɪt, -ˌeɪt) /

the dignity, position, or rank of a patrician

the class or order of patricians