society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun] > member of > collectively (3)
With plural agreement. The aristocracy; leaders and people of rank and influence in the arts, politics, the professions, etc. Occasionally singular…
figurative. singular and plural. People of the highest quality or rank (collectively); ‘grandees’, ‘swells’. ? Obsolete.
spec. plural. Members of the highest social class.