states general (statsjeneral)

pl. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country, in contradistinction to the a emblies of provinces; specifically [ cap.], the name given to the legislative a emblies of France before the revolution of 1789, and to those of the Netherlands. statesman (stāts'man), n.; pl. statesmen (-men). [= D. staatsman = G. staatsmann = Sw. stats man = Dan. stats mand; as state's, po . of state, + man.] 1. A man who is versed in the art of government, and exhibits conspicuous ability and sagacity in the direction and management of public affairs; a politician in the highest sense of the term. It is a weakne which attends high and low: the statesman who holds the helm, as well as the peasant who holds the plough. South . The Eastern politicians never do anything without the opinion of the astrologers on the fortunate moment. Statesmen of a more judicious prescience look for the fortunate moment too; but they seek it, not in the conjunctions and oppositions of planets, but in the conjunctions and oppositions of men and things. Burke , Letter to a Member of the Nat. A embly, 1791. 2. One who occupies his own estate; a small landholder. [Prov. Eng.] The old statesmen or peasant proprietors of the valley had for the most part succumbed to various destructive influences, some social, some economical, added to a cer tain amount of corrosion from within. Mrs. Humphry Ward , Robert Elsmere, IL. ii. =Syn. 1. See politician . statesmanlike (stats'man-lik), a . [ statesman + like .] Having the manner or the wisdom of statesmen; worthy of or befitting a statesman: as, a statesmanlike measure. statesmanly (stats'man-li), a. Relating to to or befitting a statesman; statesmanlike. De Quincey. statesmanship (stats man-ship), n. [statesman + -ship. The qualifications or employments of a statesman; political skill, in the higher sense. The petty craft so often mistaken for statesmanship by minds grown narrow in habits of intrigue, jobbing, and official etiquette. Macaulay , Mill on Government.