peerage
n. C / Un. the group of people who have high social or political rank, like lords and ladies in the UK. It can also mean the process of being judged by people of the same rank.
n. the body of persons holding a title of nobility, such as a lord or lady. In a legal context, it refers to the right of a person of high rank to be tried by their equals.
He was granted a title and entered the peerage.
The new legislation was debated in the House of Lords, a key part of the British peerage.
While the modern peerage has lost much of its political power, it remains a significant symbol of the country's historical social hierarchy and legal traditions.
Inherited from Middle English perage, from Old French parage. By surface analysis, peer + -age. Doublet of parage.