democracy
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (3)democracies
- the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representativesType of political orientation, ideology
- a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent themSynonyms: republiccommonwealthType of political system, form of governmentKinds Weimar Republic, parliamentary democracy
- the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole groupSynonyms: majority ruleType of doctrine, philosophy
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: F. démocratie, fr. Gr. δημοκρατία; δῆμος the people + κρατεῖν to be strong, to rule, κράτος strength.
1. Government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is retained and directly exercised by the people.
2. Government by popular representation; a form of government in which the supreme power is retained by the people, but is indirectly exercised through a system of representation and delegated authority periodically renewed; a constitutional representative government; a republic.
3. Collectively, the people, regarded as the source of government. John Milton
4. The principles and policy of the Democratic party, so called. U.S.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54