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Webster 1913 Edition

Theocracy

The-oc′ra-cy

,
Noun.
[Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] God + [GREEK] to be strong, to rule, fr. [GREEK] strength: cf. F.
théocratie
. See
Theism
, and cf.
Democracy
.]
1.
Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity.
2.
The state thus governed, as the Hebrew commonwealth before it became a kingdom.

Webster 1828 Edition

Theocracy

THEOC'RACY

,
Noun.
[Gr. God, and power; to hold.] Government of a state by the immediate direction of God; or the state thus governed. Of this species the Israelites furnish an illustrious example. The theocracy lasted till the time of Saul.

Definition 2024

theocracy

theocracy

English

Noun

theocracy ‎(plural theocracies)

  1. Government under the control of a state-sponsored religion.
  2. Rule by a god.
    • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:theocracy.

Hyponyms

Translations

Etymology

theo- +‎ -cracy, originally from Ancient Greek θεοκρατία ‎(theokratía, “rule of (a) God”), a term coined in the 1st century by Josephus (Against Apion 2.17) in reference to the kingdom of Israel. Attested in English from the 1630s, first by John Donne in a 1631 sermon: The Jews were onely under a Theocratie, an immediate government of God.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /θiːˈɒkrəsɪ/

Homophone: theocrasy

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