thalassocracy

American  

[thal-uh-sok-ruh-see] / ˌθæl əˈsɒk rə si /

noun

plural

thalassocracies

1. dominion over the seas, as in exploration, trade, or colonization.

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thalassocracy British  

/ ˌθæləˈsɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. the government of a nation having dominion over large expanses of the seas

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Etymology

Origin of thalassocracy

First recorded in 1840–50; thalasso- + -cracy

Example Sentences

The mercantile Free Cities of Essos each fall somewhere on the spectrum of oligarchy/plutocracy/timocracy/thalassocracy.

From Salon

Then one day he came upon the ruins of another thalassocracy�a Venetian doge's palace.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the same time he was reported to have been the first monarch who established a naval power, and acquired what was termed by the Greeks the Thalassocracy, or dominion of the sea.

From Project Gutenberg