thalassocracy

[ thal-uh-sok-ruh-see ]

noun

, plural thal·as·soc·ra·cies.

1. dominion over the seas, as in exploration, trade, or colonization.

thalassocracy

/ ˌθæləˈsɒkrəsɪ /

noun

1. the government of a nation having dominion over large expanses of the seas

Word History and Origins

Origin of thalassocracy¹

First recorded in 1840–50; thalasso- + -cracy

Word History and Origins

Origin of thalassocracy¹

C19: from Attic Greek thalassocratia, from thalassa sea + -cracy

Example Sentences

The mercantile Free Cities of Essos each fall somewhere on the spectrum of oligarchy/plutocracy/timocracy/thalassocracy.

From Salon

Then one day he came upon the ruins of another thalassocracy�a Venetian doge's palace.

From Time Magazine Archive

At the same time he was reported to have been the first monarch who established a naval power, and acquired what was termed by the Greeks the Thalassocracy, or dominion of the sea.

From Project Gutenberg