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 [...].
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fourth estate — the press, by 1824, and especially from 1831, British English. For the other three, see ESTATE (Cf. estate). Earlier the term had been applied in various senses that did not stick, including the mob (1752), the lawyers (1825). The extension to… … Etymology dictionary
fourth estate — fourth es tate n the fourth estate newspapers, news magazines, television and radio news, the people who work for them, and the political influence that they have = ↑press … Dictionary of contemporary English
fourth estate — n. [see ESTATE (sense 2)] [often F E ] journalism or journalists … English World dictionary
fourth estate — This is an idiomatic way of describing the media, especially the newspapers … The small dictionary of idiomes
fourth estate — fourth′ estate′ n. jou why (often caps.) the journalistic profession or its members; the press • Etymology: 1830–40 … From formal English to slang
Fourth Estate — The term Fourth Estate refers to the press, both in its explicit capacity of advocacy and in its implicit ability to frame political issues. The term goes back at least to Thomas Carlyle in the first half of the 19th century.Novelist Jeffrey… … Wikipedia
fourth estate — noun the press, including journalists, newspaper writers, photographers • Hypernyms: ↑estate of the realm, ↑estate, ↑the three estates * * * ↑fourth estate * * * the ˌfourth eˈstate f33 [fourth estate] … Useful english dictionary
fourth estate — Synonyms and related words: AP, Associated Press, Fleet Street, Reuters, UPI, United Press International, advice, book publishing, broadcast journalism, communications, communications industry, information, intelligence, journalism, magazine… … Moby Thesaurus
fourth estate — /fɔθ əsˈteɪt/ (say fawth uhs tayt) noun the public press, the newspapers or journalists collectively. {coined by Sir Edmund Burke, British politician (1729–1797), who maintained that the Fourth Estate or press gallery was more important than the… …
Fourth Estate (disambiguation) — Fourth Estate is a traditional term for the press; it may also refer to the mob (as in mob rule) or the proletariat.Fourth Estate may also refer to: * The Fourth Estate (novel), by Jeffrey Archer * Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins… … Wikipedia
