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oligarchy

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
ol·i·gar·chy  (l-gärk, l-)
n. pl. ol·i·gar·chies
1.
a. Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.
b. Those making up such a government.
2. A state governed by a few persons.

oli·garchic, oli·garchi·cal adj.

oligarchy [ˈɒlɪˌgɑːkɪ]
n pl -chies
1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government by a small group of people
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a state or organization so governed
3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a small body of individuals ruling such a state
4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) Chiefly US a small clique of private citizens who exert a strong influence on government
[via Medieval Latin from Greek oligarkhia, from olígos few + -archy]
oligarchic , oligarchical adj
oligarchically  adv

oligarchy
1. a system of rule by a few persons.
2. the people who form such a government. — oligarch, n.oligarchie, oligarchical, adj.
See also: Government
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.oligarchy - a political system governed by a few people; "one of his cardinal convictions was that Britain was not run as a democracy but as an oligarchy"; "the big cities were notoriously in the hands of the oligarchy of local businessmen"
form of government, political system - the members of a social organization who are in power
Translations
oligarchy [ˈɒlɪgɑːkɪ] Noligarquía f
oligarchy [ˈɒlɪgɑːrki] n
(= group) → oligarchie f
(= form of government) → oligarchie f
oligarchy
nOligarchie f
oligarchy [ˈɒlɪˌgɑːkɪ] noligarchia
oligarchy [ˈɒlɪˌgɑːkɪ] noligarchia


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
This is, without discussion, the earliest-known occasion on which the Oligarchy was so designated.
Whenever those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom, there are three courses for those who wish to hold them: the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you.
The private attachments of one man might easily be satisfied; but to satisfy the private attachments of a dozen, or of twenty men, would occasion a monopoly of all the principal employments of the government in a few families, and would lead more directly to an aristocracy or an oligarchy than any measure that could be contrived.
 
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