ancien regime

2 definitions found

ancien regime - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  R'egime \R['e]`gime"\ (r?`zh?m"), n. [F. See Regimen.]
     1. Mode or system of rule or management; character of
        government, or of the prevailing social system.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I dream . . . of the new r['e]gime which is to come.
                                                    --H. Kingsley.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Hydraul.) The condition of a river with respect to the
        rate of its flow, as measured by the volume of water
        passing different cross sections in a given time, uniform
        r['e]gime being the condition when the flow is equal and
        uniform at all the cross sections.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     The ancient r['e]gime, or Ancien r['e]gime [F.], the
        former political and social system, as distinguished from
        the modern; especially, the political and social system
        existing in France before the Revolution of 1789.
        [1913 Webster]

ancien regime - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  ancien regime
      n 1: a political and social system that no longer governs
           (especially the system that existed in France before the
           French Revolution)