The Russian word for nobility, "dvoryanstvo" (), derives from Slavonic "dvor" (двор), meaning the court of a prince or duke ("kniaz"), and later, of the tsar or emperor. Here, "dvor" originally referred to servants at the estate of an aristocrat. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the word "dvoryane" described the highest rank of gentry, who performed duties at the royal court, lived in it ("Moskovskie zhiltsy"), or were candidates to it ("dvorovye deti boyarskie", "vybornye deti boyarskie"). A nobleman is called a "dvoryanin" (plural: "dvoryane"). Pre-Soviet Russia shared with other countries the concept that nobility connotes a status or social category rather than a title. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the title of the nobleman in Russia gradually became a formal status, rather than a reference to a member of the aristocracy, due to a massive influx of commoners via the Table of ranks. Many descendants of the former ancient Russian aristocracy, including royalty, changed their formal standing to merchants, burghers, or even peasants, while people descended from serfs (like Vladimir Lenin's father) or clergy (like in the ancestry of actress Lyubov Orlova) gained formal nobility.