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Definition of Four Hundred in English:

Four Hundred

Translate Four Hundred into Spanish

noun

dated US

  • the Four Hundred or the 400treated as plural The social elite of a community.

    ‘I would like nothing better than to ask the Four Hundred to meet you’
    • ‘Now, on cold misty autumnal evenings, locals say they have seen the four hundred marching through the village still.’
    best, pick, cream, flower, nonpareil, elect

Pronunciation

Four Hundred

/fôr ˈhəndrəd/ /fɔr ˈhəndrəd/

Origin

Mid 19th century from Ward McAllister's remark ‘There are only 400 people in New York that one really knows’, later popularized in society reports by the New York Sun. The notion ‘elite’ is said to be from the selection of high-society guests by the socialite Mrs William B. Astor Jr, whose ballroom could hold 400.