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ochlocracy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

WOTD – 25 September 2007
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Etymology

From Middle French ochlocratie, from Ancient Greek ὀχλοκρατία (okhlokratía), from ὄχλος (ókhlos, “multitude, crowd”) + κράτος (krátos, “power”).[1][2] Equivalent to ochlo- +‎ -cracy.

Pronunciation

Noun

ochlocracy (plural ochlocracies)

  1. Mob rule; government by the masses; mobocracy. [from 1475–1485.]
    • 2016 July 1, A[nthony] C[lifford] Grayling, “Professor A C Grayling’s letter to all 650 MPs urging Parliament not to support a motion to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty”, in New College of the Humanities‎, archived from the original on 2 July 2016:
      Referendums are snapshots of sentiment at a given point in time. Government by referendum is government by crowd acclamation: not democracy, but ochlocracy. That is exactly why we have representative democracy. If referendums would be a poor way to decide on health and safety, air traffic control, or education, they are an exceedingly poor way to decide a matter as momentous as membership of the EU. This is and should be a matter for Parliament, taking all factors into account.
    • 2021, Ronald T. Libby, American Ochlocracy: Black Lives Matter & Mob Rule, independently published →ISBN, back of the book:
      This constitutes a grave threat to the American Republic and degrades it into an Ochlocracy, or government by mob rule.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. [1]
    ochlocracy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ochlocracy
  2. [2]
    ochlocracy. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ochlocracy

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