fourth estate

Definition

A hypothetical fourth class of civic subjects, or fourth body (in Britain, after the Crown, and the two Houses of Parliament) which governed legislation.

Etymology

The three (in England) estates were originally the three classes of people who could participate in government, either directly or by electing representatives – originally the clergy, barons/knights, and the commons (though they changed over time). Later the "three estates" were misunderstood as being the three governmental powers necessary for legislation: the Crown, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons; from there, the idea of a "fourth estate" was often used in satirical or jocular expressions, before developing a fixed association with the Press. In the modern sense often attributed to Edmund Burke (1787), popularized by essayist William Hazlitt in the 19th century.

Example Sentences

• "What is more barbarous than to see a nation […] where justice is lawfully denied him, that hath not wherewithall to pay for it; and that this merchandize hath so great credit, that in a politicall government there should be set up a fourth estate [tr. quatriesme estat] of Lawyers, breathsellers and pettifoggers […]"
• "“Of what profession is Mr. Archer?” “Of the Corporation of the Goosequill—of the Press, my boy,” said Warrington; “of the fourth estate.”"
• "The fourth estate is a term to describe the power that journalists and news media have to keep the powers of government in check by informing the citizens. The way citizens have received news and information has always evolved, but throughout that whole time, having an informed audience was seen as a necessity to a functioning democracy. The newspaper itself has been dying for a while, even before social media, all thanks to 24-hour news."