Kakistocracy is defined as government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens. Since this is a blog about language, I won't take time to point a finger; you know who you are. The kakist- segment is the superlative form of the Greek word kakos, bad. The -cracy combining form comes from the Greek kratia, strength or power.
Normally, the -kak- letter combination is rendered as -cac-. We find it spelled that way in the words cacophony (harsh sound) and cacography (wretched handwriting).
An allied form of government is ochlocracy, mob rule. It is based on the Greek word okhlos, crowd, mob, multitude.
Please click the Follow button below to get updates from The Professor.
-
Steve from Traverse City called in to say that he heard President Obama misusing a word. Steve thought he heard the President say that ... -
Ned from Lake Ann asked about the difference between flex and flux. The first difference is origin: flex came fro... -
Norman wrote, “Can you provide some clarity on the use of 'fall' and 'fell' with regards to cutting down a tree? Man...
No comments:
Post a Comment