archon

American  

[ahr-kon] / ˈɑr kɒn /

noun

1. a higher magistrate in ancient Athens.

2. any ruler.

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archon British  

/ ˈɑːkɒn, -kən /

noun

1. (in ancient Athens) one of the nine chief magistrates

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Other Word Forms

• archonship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of archon

1650–60; < Greek árchōn magistrate, ruler, noun use of present participle of árchein to be first, rule; see archi-

Explanation

An archon is a leader. It could refer to the President of the United States, a top personality of the fashion world, or a really important person in dog training circles. This term, while often used in a general, poetic sense, was also a title in Ancient Greece. It was often used for a chief magistrate, or a person who enforces the law. Archon comes from a Greek word meaning "to be first." The arch- part of this root word is shared with monarch, another type of leader, and with the arch- in words like archbishop, a head bishop.

Example Sentences

An estimated 2,000,000 Americans will visit Europe this year, and an impressive number of them will follow a trail carefully blazed in advance by Temple Hornaday Fielding, at 55 the archon of U.S. guidebook writers.

From Time Magazine Archive

The mullah has become the archon of the oilfields.

From Time Magazine Archive

And Khomeini is the archon of the oilfields Khuzestan is a land of extreme contrasts.

From Time Magazine Archive

But be that as it may, the war broke out in the reign of Polydorus and Theopompus, kings of Sparta, at the time when the office of archon at Athens was still decennial.

From The Ancient History of the Egyptians, Carthaginians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Macedonians and Grecians (Vol. 1 of 6) by Rollin, Charles

They were awarded to the victors in the games; the archon wore a myrtle-wreath as the sign of his dignity, as did also the orator while speaking to the people from the tribune.

From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)