patriciate

the highest class in a society the patriciate regarded patronage of the arts as a moral and social duty Synonyms elite, gentility, gentlefolk (also gentlefolks), gentry, nobility, aristocracy, quality, upper class, upper crustRelated Words A-list, beau monde, beautiful people, café society, Four Hundred (or 400), glitterati, haut monde (also haute monde), jet set, society; carriage trade, plutocracyNear Antonyms commoners, (the) crowd, (the) masses, peasantry, peonage, (the) people, plebeians, plebs, (the) populace, (the) public, rank and file; bourgeoisie, middle class, working class; dregs, (the) herd, (the) mob, rabble, rabblement, riffraff, scum, trashAntonyms proletarians, proletariat