8 results for: Tyrant
ty·rant
Audio Help [tahy-ruh
nt] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [tahy-ruh
nt] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | a sovereign or other ruler who uses power oppressively or unjustly. |
| 2. | any person in a position of authority who exercises power oppressively or despotically. |
| 3. | a tyrannical or compulsory influence. |
| 4. | an absolute ruler, esp. one in ancient Greece or Sicily. |
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME tirant < OF < L tyrannus < Gk týrannos
]
] —Synonyms 1. despot, autocrat, dictator.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Tyrant
To learn more about Tyrant visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| ty·rant
Audio Help (tī'rənt) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English, from Old French, alteration of tyran, from Latin tyrannus, from Greek turannos.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
tyrant
1297, "absolute ruler," from O.Fr. tyrant (12c.), from L. tyrannus "lord, master, tyrant" (cf. Sp. tirano, It. tiranno), from Gk. tyrannos "lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler," a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor (probably Lydian); cf. Etruscan Turan "mistress, lady" (surname of Venus).
"In the exact sense, a tyrant is an individual who arrogates to himself the royal authority without having a right to it. This is how the Greeks understood the word 'tyrant': they applied it indifferently to good and bad princes whose authority was not legitimate." [Rousseau, "The Social Contract"]The spelling with -t arose in O.Fr. by analogy with prp. endings in -ant. Fem. form tyranness is recorded from 1590 (Spenser); cf. M.L. tyrannissa (1372).
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| tyrant | |
noun | |
| 1. | a cruel and oppressive dictator |
| 2. | in ancient Greece, a ruler who had seized power without legal right to it |
| 3. | any person who exercises power in a cruel way; "his father was a tyrant" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
tyrant [ˈtairənt] noun
a cruel and unjust ruler
Example: The people suffered under foreign tyrants.
See also: tyranny, tyrannical, tyrannize, tyranniseExample: The people suffered under foreign tyrants.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Tyrant
Ty"ran\, n. [See Tyrant.] A tyrant. [Obs.] Lordly love is such a tyran fell. --Spenser.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Tyrant
Ty*ran"nic\ (?; 277), Tyrannical \Ty*ran"nic*al\, a. [L. tyrannicus, Gr. ?: cf. F. tyrannique. See Tyrant.] Of or pertaining to a tyrant; suiting a tyrant; unjustly severe in government; absolute; imperious; despotic; cruel; arbitrary; as, a tyrannical prince; a tyrannical master; tyrannical government. "A power tyrannical." --Shak. Our sects a more tyrannic power assume. --Roscommon. The oppressor ruled tyrannic where he durst. --Pope. -- Ty*ran"nic*al*ly, adv. -- Ty*ran"nic*al*ness, .| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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