◙ noun 1. an area or amount of land or property, in particular • 一块土地（或地产），尤指 [Brit.] an area of land and modern buildings developed for residential, industrial, or commercial purposes • [英] 住宅区；工业区；商业区 an extensive area of land in the country, usually with a large house, owned by one person or organization • （乡村的）大片私有土地；庄园 all the money and property owned by a particular person, especially at death • 财产（尤指遗产） »in his will, he divided his estate between his wife and daughter. 在遗嘱中，他将财产分给妻子和女儿。 a property where coffee, rubber, grapes, or other crops are cultivated • 种植园 (in South Africa) a registered vineyard producing wines made exclusively from grapes grown within its boundaries • （南非）（专用园内葡萄酿酒的）注册葡萄园 2. (也作 estate of the realm)a class or order regarded as forming part of the body politic, in particular (in Britain), one of the three groups constituting Parliament, now the Lords Spiritual (the heads of the Church), the Lords Temporal (the peerage), and the Commons. They are also known as the three estates • 组成国家的一个阶级（或阶层）；（尤指英国议会构成中的）三大集团之一（现在这三大集团为：上议院神职议员、上议院世俗议员和下议院议员。(亦称 the three estates）) [dated] a particular class or category of people in society • [旧] 社会阶层 »the spiritual welfare of all estates of men. 各阶层人士精神上的幸福。 3. (archaic or poetic/literary)a particular state, period, or condition in life • [古或诗／文] （人生的）状况；阶段；条件 »programmes for the improvement of man's estate. 改善人们生活状况的计划。 »the holy estate of matrimony. 婚姻的神圣。 [mass noun] grandeur, pomp, or state • 庄严；浮华；高贵 »a chamber without a chair of estate. 连一张像样的椅子都没有的房间。 4. [Brit.] . short forestate car • [英] estate car 的简称
【语源】
1. Middle English (in the sense 'state or condition'): from Old French estat, from Latin status 'state, condition', from stare 'to stand'