cleruchy

British

/ ˈklɛəˌrʊkɪ, klɪˈruːkɪəl /

noun

(in the ancient world) a special type of Athenian colony, in which settlers ( cleruchs ) retained their Athenian citizenship and the community remained a political dependency of Athens

"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

Other Word Forms

cleruchial adjective

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Finding Samos in the hands of Cyprothemis, a servant of the satrap Tigranes, he laid siege to it, captured it after a ten months’ siege and established a cleruchy.

From Project Gutenberg

Early in the 6th century its prosperity was broken by a disastrous war with the Athenians, who expelled the ruling aristocracy and settled a cleruchy on the site.

From Project Gutenberg

Though enrolled in the Delian League it remained disaffected towards Athens, and in 447 had to be coerced by the settlement of a cleruchy.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023