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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

des·pot

Audio Help [des-puh

t, -pot] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited power; autocrat.

2.	any tyrant or oppressor.

3.	History/Historical. an honorary title applied to a Byzantine emperor, afterward to members of his family, and later to Byzantine vassal rulers and governors.

[Origin: 1555–65; < Gk despótés master < *dems-pot- presumably, “master of the house,” equiv. to *dems-, akin to dómos house + pot-, base of pósis husband, spouse; cf. hospodar, host¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Despot

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

des·pot Audio Help (děs'pət) Pronunciation Key
n.

A ruler with absolute power.
A person who wields power oppressively; a tyrant.
1. A Byzantine emperor or prince.
2. An Eastern Orthodox bishop or patriarch.

[French despote, from Medieval Latin despota, from Greek despotēs, master; see dem- in Indo-European roots.]

des·pot'ic (dĭ-spŏt'ĭk) adj., des·pot'i·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
despot

1562, "absolute ruler," from M.L. despota, from Gk. despotes "master of a household, lord, absolute ruler." Faintly pejorative in Gk., progressively moreso as used in various languages for Roman emperors, Christian rulers of Ottoman provinces, and Louis XVI during the French Revolution. Despotism (1727) is from Fr. despotisme.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

despot
noun
a cruel and oppressive dictator [syn: tyrant]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
despot [ˈdespot, (American) -pət] noun

a person (usually the king or ruler of a country) with absolute power, often a tyrant

Arabic:	طاغٍ، مُسْتَبِد
Chinese (Simplified):	专制君主
Chinese (Traditional):	專制君主
Czech:	tyran, despota
Danish:	despot; tyran; diktator
Dutch:	despoot
Estonian:	ainuvalitseja, despoot
Finnish:	despootti
French:	despote
German:	der Despot
Greek:	δυνάστης, τύραννος
Hungarian:	zsarnok
Icelandic:	einræðisherra
Indonesian:	despot
Italian:	despota

Japanese:	独裁者
Korean:	독재자, 절대 군주
Latvian:	despots
Lithuanian:	despotas
Norwegian:	enehersker, tyrann, hardstyrer
Polish:	despota
Portuguese (Brazil):	déspota
Portuguese (Portugal):	déspota
Romanian:	despot
Russian:	деспот
Slovak:	despota
Slovenian:	despot, trinog
Spanish:	déspota
Swedish:	despot, tyrann
Turkish:	zorba

See also: despotism

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Despot

Des"pot\, n. [F. despote, LL. despotus, fr. Gr. despo`ths master, lord, the second part of which is akin to po`sis husband, and L. potens. See Potent.]

1. A master; a lord; especially, an absolute or irresponsible ruler or sovereign.

Irresponsible power in human hands so naturally leads to it, that cruelty has become associated with despot and tyrant. --C. J. Smith.

2. One who rules regardless of a constitution or laws; a tyrant.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

DESPOT

DESPOT: in Acronym Finder

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