States General
Preserved but no longer current.
The supreme legislative assembly of France before the Revolution of 1789. It was only summoned as a last resort, prior to 1789 not having been called since 1614. It consisted of the three Estates of the realm, nobles, clergy, and the Third Estate (Tiers etat) or commoners. The name is still applied to the parliament of the kingdom of the Netherlands.
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 “States General” mean?
The supreme legislative assembly of France before the Revolution of 1789. It was only summoned as a last resort, prior to 1789 not having been called since 1614. It consisted of the three Estates of the realm, nobles, clergy, and the Third Estate (Tiers etat) or commoners. The name is still applied to the parliament of the kingdom of the Netherlands.
Is “States General” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.