autocracy

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a political system governed by a single individual
  2. noun a political theory favoring unlimited authority by a single individual

Etymology

From auto- + -cracy, from Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατία (autokratía, “A system of government by one person with absolute power.”), from αὐτός (autós, “single, self, same, alone”) + κράτος (krátos, “power”) + -ία (-ía, “feminine abstract nouns suffix”); see also Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατής (autokratḗs, “one who governs alone”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

autarchy

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading