polity

[pol-i-tee]

noun

plural

polities 

1. a particular form or system of government.

   civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.

2. 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.

3. government or administrative regulation.

   The colonists demanded independence in matters of internal polity.

4. a state or other organized community or body.

polity

/ ˈpɒlɪtɪ /

noun

1. a form of government or organization of a state, church, society, etc; constitution

2. a politically organized society, state, city, etc

3. the management of public or civil affairs

4. political organization

Word History and Origins

Origin of polity¹

1530–40; < Latin polītīa < Greek polīteía citizenship, government, form of government, commonwealth, equivalent to polī́te-, variant stem of polī́tēs citizen ( polis, -ite ¹ ) + -ia -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of polity¹

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

Example Sentences

With the chorus representing the voice of the polity eliminated, in essence Mr. Icke has transformed the play into a more intimate if no less fraught family tragedy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The American polity long ago decided to take that worry less seriously than the founders did.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She re-creates the spectacle of the 1787 convention in Philadelphia, the ceaseless harangues between North and South, bringing to life these visionaries — white, affluent men, many drama queens — as they laid out an unprecedented polity.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At some point, the massive power imbalance baked into the entire Western liberal-democratic polity, which drives so many people who feel voiceless and disenfranchised into consumerist apathy, fascist fantasy or both, will require radical readjustment.

Read more on Salon

"I think taking into account the circumstances and the compulsions of a coalition polity, I have done as best as I could do under the circumstances."

Read more on BBC