Ancien Regime
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The old order of things ; a phrase used during the French Revolution for the old Bourbon monarchy, or the system of government, with all its evils, which existed prior to that great change.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Ancien Regime” mean?
The old order of things ; a phrase used during the French Revolution for the old Bourbon monarchy, or the system of government, with all its evils, which existed prior to that great change.
Is “Ancien Regime” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.