aristocracy; aristocratic system
Refers to a form of government or social system where power is held by a hereditary noble class. Used in political and historical contexts.
Some city-states in ancient Greece were governed by an aristocracy.
Aristocracy is a political system that contrasts with democracy.
君主制 means 'monarchy', where a single ruler (monarch) holds power, while 貴族制 specifically refers to rule by a noble class.
Compound of 貴族 (kizoku, 'nobility') and 制 (-sei, 'system'). The term is a modern political science term, likely coined in the Meiji period to translate Western concepts of aristocracy.