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nepotism - 5 dictionary results

nep⋅o⋅tism

  [nep-uh-tiz-uhm]
Use nepotism in a Sentence
–noun
patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics: She was accused of nepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.
Origin:
1655–65; < It nepotismo. See nephew, -ism

Related forms:
ne⋅pot⋅ic  [nuh-pot-ik] , nep⋅o⋅tis⋅tic, nep⋅o⋅tis⋅ti⋅cal, adjective
nep⋅o⋅tist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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nep·o·tism   (něp'ə-tĭz'əm)   
n.  Favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives, as in business.

[French népotisme, from Italian nepotismo, from nepote, nephew, from Latin nepōs, nepōt-; see nepōt- in Indo-European roots.]
nep'o·tist n., nep'o·tis'tic, nep'o·tis'ti·cal adj.
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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Nepotism

Nep"o*tism\ (?; 277), n. [L. nepus, nepotus, nephew: cf. F. n['e]potisme. See Nephew.] Undue attachment to relations; favoritism shown to members of one's family; bestowal of patronage in consideration of relationship, rather than of merit or of legal claim.

From nepotism Alexander V. was safe; for he was without kindred or relatives. But there was another perhaps more fatal nepotism, which turned the tide of popularity against him -- the nepotism of his order. --Milman.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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nepotism [(nep-uh-tiz-uhm)]

Favoritism granted to relatives or close friends, without regard to their merit. Nepotism usually takes the form of employing relatives or appointing them to high office.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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nepotism 
"favoritism shown to relatives, esp. in appointment to high office," 1662, from Fr. népotisme, from It. nepotismo, from nepote "nephew," from L. nepotem (nom. nepos) "grandson, nephew" (see nephew). Originally, privileges granted to a pope's "nephew" which was a euphemism for his natural son.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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