democracy
/dɪˈmɒkɹəsi/dih-MO-kruh-see
/dɪˈmɑkɹəsi/dih-MAH-kruh-see
Meaningrule by the people
Common meaning: government by the people, usually through elected representatives
- demoa country district; the ordinary peopleLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 183 · scan
- cracyrule, power (Greek kratos)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos) ‘a country district; the ordinary people’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), entry δῆμος (dêmos), p. 183 · dictionary scan
Roots
- δῆμος (dêmos) Ancient Greek “a country district; the ordinary people”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app