Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
States General. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
States General, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
States General in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
States General you have here. The definition of the word
States General will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
States General, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From states, plural of state + general, after Dutch Staten-Generaal, Middle French etats generaux.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
States General
- (historical) A consultative assembly in prerevolutionary France uniting representatives of the three estates of clergy, nobles, and commons.
1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, published 2010, page 18:In 1789, with bankruptcy staring the government in the face, Louis XVI took the momentous decision to summon the States-General.
- (historical) A similar assembly in the Burgundian and Habsburg Netherlands.
- (historical) An executive-legislative council in the Dutch Republic, consisting of delegates of the sovereign Dutch provinces, that functioned as a de facto confederal government and/or collective head of state.
1712, Francis Hare, The Treaty Between Her Majesty and the States-General for Securing the Succession to the Crown of Great-Britain, and for Settling the Barrier for the States-General Against France, Consider'd, page 8:It ſhall be Lawful for his Royal Majeſty of Great-Britain, and the States-General, by common Advice, and for the Benefit and Enlargement of the Navigation and Commerce of their Subjects, to ſeize by their Forces, what Lands and Cities they can, belonging to the Spaniſh Dominions in the Indies; (…).
2003, “Memorial to the States General, 19 April 1781”, in Gregg L. Lint, Richard Alan Ryerson, Anne Decker Cecere, Celeste Walker, Jennifer Shea, C. James Taylor., editors, The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, volume 11, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pages 272–282, footnote 2:J A was fully aware that the States General would not accept a memorial from the minister of a nation as yet unrecognized, but he nevertheless went through the motions of presenting it. Then, to insure that his initiative would not disappear into the labyrinth of the Dutch political system, JA published the memorial in English, French, and Dutch editions. He chose to rely on public opinion to influence the various provincial states and the instructions they would give their representatives in the States General.
- The bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Synonyms
Translations