JUNKERS, yoong'kėrz, a name given to the younger members of the nobility of Prussia and the adjoining states. “Junkerthum” (aristocratic manners) was a term of reproach used in the 19th century to designate the party of reaction in Prussia, which found its most strenuous supporters among the nobility, “Junkerei” signifies the behavior of young aristocrats; aristocratic arrogance; in German slang a baker's apprentice is sometimes called a junker.