Aristocratic status can involve feudal or legal privileges. They are usually below only the monarch of a country or nation in its social hierarchy. In modern era European societies, the term aristocracy has often been used synonymously with the nobility. This was a specific class that arose in the middle ages. The term "aristocracy" derives from the Greek ἀριστοκρατία ("aristokratia" ἄριστος ("aristos") "excellent," and κράτος ("kratos") "power".