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despot

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des⋅pot

  [des-puht, -pot]
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–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 despótēs master < *dems-pot- presumably, “master of the house,” equiv. to *dems-, akin to dómos house + pot-, base of pósis husband, spouse; cf. hospodar, host 1
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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des·pot   (děs'pət)   
n.  

  1. A ruler with absolute power.

  2. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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