Episode 243: Autocracy

(Intro & piano music)
Today's word has a small journey as it's very straight forward. It has also been reduced to a single meaning in Greek. Αυτό (auto) is short for Εαυτό and it means 'self' . Κράτος (kratos) means 'state' . In Ancient Greece and Rome, the combined word meant , any system of government that was absolute and it included Monarchy, dictatorship and a whole empire. The word came to English through the usual route, Latin and old French and what I find interesting is which political system has been attached to most, today. In modern English it's used to describe a single ruler an 'autocrat' while in modern Greek it means 'an Empire'. ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΙΑ/AUTOCRACY

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