autocrat
[ aw-tuh-krat ]
/ ˈɔ təˌkræt /
noun
an absolute ruler, especially a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government as by inherent right, not subject to restrictions.
a person invested with or claiming to exercise absolute authority.
a person who behaves in an authoritarian manner; a domineering person.
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Origin of autocrat
1795–1805; < Greek autokratḗs self-ruling, ruling alone, equivalent to auto- auto-1 + krat- (stem of krátos power) + -ēs adj. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for autocrat
British Dictionary definitions for autocrat
autocrat
/ (ˈɔːtəˌkræt) /
noun
a ruler who possesses absolute and unrestricted authority
a domineering or dictatorial person
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for autocrat
autocrat
1803, from French autocrate, from Greek autokrates "ruling by oneself, absolute, autocratic," from autos- "self" (see auto-) + kratia "rule," from kratos "strength, power" (see -cracy). First used by Robert Southey, with reference to Napoleon. An earlier form was autocrator (1789), used in reference to the Russian Czars. Earliest form in English is the fem. autocratress (1762).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper