thalassocracy

American

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

noun

PLURAL

thalassocracies

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

thalassocracy British

/ ˌθæləˈsɒkrəsɪ /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of thalassocracy

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023