Ancient Greek word root · Society & Law

-cracy: power, rule

-cracy is an Ancient Greek root meaning “power, rule”. Learn its variants and explore 12 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: power, rule

Root forms: -cracy, -crat

Source word: κράτος — might; strength

Word family and examples

• democracy

  a system of government by the whole population, typically through elected representatives

• democrat

  A supporter of democracy; an advocate of democratic politics (originally (historical) as opposed to the aristocrats in Revolutionary France).

• bureaucracy

  Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.

• aristocracy

  the highest class in society; government by a privileged class

• aristocrat

  One of the aristocracy, nobility, or people of rank in a community; one of a ruling class; a noble (originally in Revolutionary France).

• bureaucrat

  An official who is part of a bureaucracy.

• autocracy

  A form of government in which unlimited power is held by a single individual.

• theocracy

  Government under the control of a state religion.

• meritocracy

  Rule by merit and talent.

• autocrat

  An absolute ruler with infinite power.

• technocracy

  A system of governance where people who are skilled or proficient govern in their respective areas of expertise.

• technocrat

  An advocate of technocracy.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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