Noun

(en noun)

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:when I came to man's estate

*(Bible), (w) xii. 16

*:Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate .

(label) Status, rank.

*(Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)

*:God hath imprinted his authority in several parts, upon several estates of men.

(label) The condition of one's fortunes; prosperity, possessions.

(label) A "person of estate"; a nobleman or noblewoman.

*:

*:And anone came oute of a chamber to hym the fayrest lady that euer he sawe & more rycher bysene than euer he sawe Quene Gueneuer or ony other estat Lo sayd they syre Bors here is the lady vnto whome we owe alle oure seruyse / and I trowe she be the rychest lady and the fayrest of alle the world

*(Bible), (w) vi. 21

*:Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee.

*(w) (1775-1864)

*:She's a duchess, a great estate .

(label) A major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country and formerly possessing distinct political rights ((Estates of the realm)).

*1992 , (Hilary Mantel), (A Place of Greater Safety) , Harper Perennial 2007, p.115:

*:I am afraid that some of the nobles who are campaigning for it simply want to use the Estates to cut down the King's power and increase their own.

*2011 , (Norman Davies), Vanished Kingdoms , Penguin 2012, p.202:

*:The three estates of feudal lords, clergy and royal officers met in separate chambers, and exercised an advisory role.

(label) The nature and extent of a person's interest in, or ownership of, land.

An (especially extensive) area of land, under a single ownership.

*'>citation

The collective property and liabilities of someone, especially a deceased person.

(label) A housing estate.

(label) The state; the general body politic; the common-wealth; the general interest; state affairs.

*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)

*:I call matters of estate not only the parts of sovereignty, but whatsoeverconcerneth manifestly any great portion of people.

Noun

(en noun)

A phase.

* (1800-1859)

Such a polity is suited only to a particular stage in the progress of society.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)

, volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […]  But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.}}

The area, in any theatre, generally raised, upon which an audience watches plays or other public ceremonies.

* (Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)

Knights, squires, and steeds must enter on the stage .

* (1791–1875)

Lo! Where the stage , the poor, degraded stage, / Holds its warped mirror to a gaping age.

A floor or storey of a house.

(Wyclif)

A floor elevated for the convenience of mechanical work, etc.; scaffolding; staging.

A platform, often floating, serving as a kind of wharf.

A stagecoach, an enclosed horsedrawn carriage used to carry passengers.

* (William Cowper) (1731-1800)

a parcel sent you by the stage

* (Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)

I went in the sixpenny stage .

(label) A place of rest on a regularly travelled road; a station; a place appointed for a relay of horses.

(label) A degree of advancement in a journey; one of several portions into which a road or course is marked off; the distance between two places of rest on a road.

* Jeffrey

A stage signifies a certain distance on a road.

* 1858 , (Samuel Smiles), (Robert Stephenson), The Life of George Stephenson: Railway Engineer , p.356

He travelled by gig, with his wife, his favourite horse performing the journey by easy stages .

*{{quote-book, year=1910, author=(Emerson Hough)

, title= The Purchase Price, chapter=3 , passage=The Mount Vernon , favoured by a good stage of water, soon cleared the narrow Monongahela channel, passed the confluence, and headed down under full steam, […].}}

(label) The number of an electronic circuit’s block, such as a filter, an amplifier, etc.

The place on a microscope where the slide is located for viewing.

(label) A level; one of the sequential areas making up the game.

A place where anything is publicly exhibited, or a remarkable affair occurs; the scene.

* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

When we are born, we cry that we are come / To this stage of fools.

* (John Milton) (1608-1674)

Music and ethereal mirth / Wherewith the stage of air and earth did ring.

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 2, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC

, title= Bulgaria 0-3 England , passage=Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.}}