dynasty

[dahy-nuh-stee; British also din-uh-stee]

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noun, plural dy·nas·ties.

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.

Origin of dynasty

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin dynastīa < Greek dynasteia. See dynast, -y³

Related formsdy·nas·tic

[dahy-nas-tik; British also dih-nas-tik] /daɪˈnæs tɪk; British also dɪˈnæs tɪk/, dy·nas·ti·cal, adjectivedy·nas·ti·cal·ly, adverban·ti·dy·nas·tic, adjectivean·ti·dy·nas·ti·cal, adjectivean·ti·dy·nas·ti·cal·ly, adverban·ti·dy·nas·ty, adjectivenon·dy·nas·tic, adjectivenon·dy·nas·ti·cal, adjectivenon·dy·nas·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dynasty

Contemporary Examples of dynasty

A problem far more pressing for the dynasty was the Taiping revolt, which ran from 1850 to 1864 and left tens of millions dead.
We're Still Fighting the Opium Wars
William O’Connor
August 28, 2014
The show seeks to suggest, as Dynasty and Dallas did, that rich people suffer too.
‘Made in Chelsea’ Has a New York Moment
Tim Teeman
August 19, 2014
With each generation, the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has grown less impressive, and more pedestrian.
Modi Crushes Gandhi in India’s Election Landslide
Tunku Varadarajan
May 16, 2014
With one Clinton presidency done and another one possibly starting, this could be the making of a dynasty.
Hillary Clinton Achieves Her Other Dream: Grandma
Keli Goff
April 17, 2014
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 of dynasty

The Tudor dynasty had ended before the Romanoff dynasty began.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
His real name was Li, and he belonged to the ruling Tang dynasty.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
The Republic could not suffer at their hands; the Republic and the dynasty were impregnable.
The Adventurer
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Papa will only have to carry himself proudly, as befits the head of a dynasty.
Fruitfulness
Emile Zola
Was it not the bill-posters who caused the downfall of the French dynasty?
The Strollers
Frederic S. Isham

British Dictionary definitions for dynasty

dynasty

noun plural -ties

a sequence of hereditary rulersan Egyptian dynasty

any sequence of powerful leaders of the same familythe Kennedy dynasty

Derived Formsdynastic (dɪˈnæstɪk) or dynastical, adjectivedynastically, adverb

Word Origin for dynasty

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

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."