Why this word is great
SZLACHTA — [Noun] The legally privileged noble class in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a political nation defined by collective sovereignty. From Polish szlachta, from Old Polish ślachta, ślechta, from Middle High German slahte ("lineage, kind"), from Old High German slahta. Unlike "aristocracy," which implies a stratified pyramid of titled elites, or "gentry," which connotes a provincial landed interest, the szlachta was a vast, fractious citizen-militia bound by a shared golden liberty. It is the rustle of a grassroots parliament in a sun-drenched field, the weight of a simple signet ring bearing the herb that was a passport to political voice, and the stubborn pride of a thousand country squires in threadbare żupans who believed themselves the equal of any magnate—a poignant spectacle of democracy for the few that presided over its own twilight.