-cracy


  1. a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek (aristocracy; democracy); on this model used, with the meaning “rule,” “government,” “governing body,” to form abstract nouns from stems of other origin: mobocracy; bureaucracy.

Origin of -cracy

1
<Middle French -cracie (now -cratie) <Late Latin -cratia<Greek -kratia, equivalent to krát(os) rule, strength, might (akin to hard) + -ia-y3

Words Nearby -cracy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for -cracy

-cracy

n combining form
  1. indicating a type of government or rule: plutocracy; mobocracy See also -crat

Origin of -cracy

1
from Greek -kratia, from kratos power

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012