the.com/aristocrat
Proof that winning a genetic lottery once makes you interesting forever.
means A member of the hereditary upper class, ranked above everyone else by birth and title rather than by anything they've actually done.
from From French 'aristocrate,' built on Greek 'aristokratia' — 'aristos' (best) plus 'kratos' (power, rule). So literally 'rule by the best.' The Greeks coined it in earnest, imagining government by the most virtuous citizens; history promptly swapped 'virtuous' for 'well-born' and never looked back.
- original meaning
- meant rule by the virtuous, not the rich
- french twist
- word gained sneer during the French Revolution
- card game
- also slang for a type of sugar-free cigarette in interwar europe
- modern usage
- now often used sarcastically, not as compliment