polity

[pol-i-tee]

noun, plural pol·i·ties.

a particular form or system of government: civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.
the condition of being constituted as a state or other organized community or body: The polity of ancient Athens became a standard for later governments.
government or administrative regulation: The colonists demanded independence in matters of internal polity.

a state or other organized community or body.

Origin of polity

1530–40; < Latin polītīa < Greek polīteía citizenship, government, form of government, commonwealth, equivalent to polī́te-, variant stem of polī́tēs citizen (see polis, -ite¹) + -ia -ia

Can be confusedpolicy polity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for polities

commonwealth, land, federation, union, country, community, nation, republic, sovereignty, territory

Examples from the Web for polities

Contemporary Examples of polities

The gulf between mercantile hubs and the polities in which they are lodged is not new.
UKIP’s Nativist Rebellion Against London
Lloyd Green
May 26, 2014
The same preferences are reflected in what the polities omit to do.
Can We Choose Recovery?
David Frum
April 19, 2012
These preferences are reflected in what the polities do, how they behave.
Can We Choose Recovery?
David Frum
April 19, 2012

Historical Examples of polities

All our polities, philosophies, and religions, grow out of each other.
Not Guilty
Robert Blatchford
A Conservative in polities, he was elected in 1864 Mayor of Norwich.
Norfolk Annals
Charles Mackie
You are following the popular avenue to polities, I suppose.
The Half-Hearted
John Buchan
For thirty-six years of uneasy peace the polities of Europe centred upon that possibility.
A Short History of the World
H. G. Wells
The other objection I find urged against the beginning of polities, in the way I have mentioned, is this, viz.
Second Treatise of Government
John Locke

British Dictionary definitions for polities

polity

noun plural -ties

a form of government or organization of a state, church, society, etc; constitution
a politically organized society, state, city, etc
the management of public or civil affairs
political organization

Word Origin for polity

C16: from Latin polītīa, from Greek politeia citizenship, civil administration, from politēs citizen, from polis city

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 polities

polity

1530s, from Middle French politie (early 15c.) or directly from Late Latin polita "organized government" (see policy (n.1)).