aristocrat

[In Sw. aristokrat; Fr. aristo crate; Port. aristocrat a.] [ARISTOCRACY.] 1. One who is a member of a small governing cla in a nation, or who, even if he takes no part in government, is of high rank. "We were thus accompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was plainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer Indians towards them."Darwin: Voyage round the World , ch. xiv. 2. One who considers the best form of government to be that which places the chief power in the hands of the aristocracy of birth and rank. 3. One who really is, or at least is considered to be, despotic in temper. "What his friends call aristocrats and despots."Burke.