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Definition of polity - 4 dictionary results

pol⋅i⋅ty

  [pol-i-tee]
Use polity in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. a particular form or system of government: civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.
2. the condition of being constituted as a state or other organized community or body: The polity of ancient Athens became a standard for later governments.
3. government or administrative regulation: The colonists demanded independence in matters of internal polity.
4. a state or other organized community or body.
Origin:
1530–40; < L polītīa < Gk polīteía citizenship, government, form of government, commonwealth, equiv. to polte-, var. s. of poltēs citizen (see polis, -ite 1 ) + -ia -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pol·i·ty   (pŏl'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. pol·i·ties
  1. The form of government of a nation, state, church, or organization.
  2. An organized society, such as a nation, having a specific form of government: "His alien philosophy found no roots in the American polity" (New York Times).

[Obsolete French politie, from Old French, from Late Latin polītīa, the Roman government; see police.]
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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Polity

Pol"i*ty\, n.; pl. Polities. [L. politia, Gr. ?: cf. F. politie. See 1st Policy, Police.]

1. The form or constitution of the civil government of a nation or state; the framework or organization by which the various departments of government are combined into a systematic whole. --Blackstone. Hooker.

2. Hence: The form or constitution by which any institution is organized; the recognized principles which lie at the foundation of any human institution.

Nor is possible that any form of polity, much less polity ecclesiastical, should be good, unless God himself be author of it. --Hooker.

3. Policy; art; management. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.

Syn: Policy.

Usage: Polity, Policy. These two words were originally the same. Polity is now confined to the structure of a government; as, civil or ecclesiastical polity; while policy is applied to the scheme of management of public affairs with reference to some aim or result; as, foreign or domestic policy. Policy has the further sense of skillful or cunning management.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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polity 
1538, from Fr. politie (1419), from L.L. polita "organized government" (see policy).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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