dynasty
[dahy-nuh-stee; British also din-uh-stee]
- a sequence of rulers from the same family, stock, or group: the Ming dynasty.
- the rule of such a sequence.
- a series of members of a family who are distinguished for their success, wealth, etc.
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Origin of dynasty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dynasty
Contemporary Examples
A problem far more pressing for the dynasty was the Taiping revolt, which ran from 1850 to 1864 and left tens of millions dead.
The show seeks to suggest, as Dynasty and Dallas did, that rich people suffer too.
With each generation, the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has grown less impressive, and more pedestrian.
With one Clinton presidency done and another one possibly starting, this could be the making of a dynasty.
Brussels and Washington may no longer be able to contain Lukashenko as he builds a Stalinist dynasty in the heart of Europe.
Forget Kim Jong Un—China’s New Favorite Dictator Is Belarus’s Aleksandr Lukashenko.Kapil Komireddi
January 28, 2014
Historical Examples
The Tudor dynasty had ended before the Romanoff dynasty began.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
His real name was Li, and he belonged to the ruling Tang dynasty.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
The Republic could not suffer at their hands; the Republic and the dynasty were impregnable.
The AdventurerCyril M. Kornbluth
Papa will only have to carry himself proudly, as befits the head of a dynasty.
FruitfulnessEmile Zola
Was it not the bill-posters who caused the downfall of the French dynasty?
The StrollersFrederic S. Isham
dynasty
- a sequence of hereditary rulersan Egyptian dynasty
- any sequence of powerful leaders of the same familythe Kennedy dynasty
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Word Origin
C15: via Late Latin from Greek dunasteia, from dunastēs dynast
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 dynasty
n.
mid-15c. (earlier dynastia, late 14c.), from Middle French dynastie and directly from Late Latin dynastia, from Greek dynasteia "power, lordship, sovereignty," from dynastes "ruler, chief," from dynasthai "have power."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper