autocrat

Etymology

It is borrowed from French autocrate and its source borrowed from Ancient Greek αὐτοκρατής (autokratḗs, “ruling by oneself, absolute”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from αὐτός (autós, “self”) and κράτος (krátos, “strength, power”).^[2][6][3][7] The OED notes that the French word is recorded only slightly later than the English one, in 1768 in its general sense and in 1788 as a title of the Emperor of Russia;^[2] Hoad calls it a word of the French Revolution.^[8] The first English record copies a Russian title of Catherine II, rendered "Autocrat of all the Russias".^[2] Etymonline adds that the Greek noun was αὐτοκράτωρ (autokrátōr), from which English had autocrator in 1759.^[9] Compare German Autokrat, of the late 18th century.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A ruler with absolute power: 1762, in the Public Advertiser, as the title of Catherine II of Russia.^[2] Etymonline notes that the feminine forms autocratress and autocratrix were also used in 1762.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word first belonged to the titles of the Russian rulers, who took it as their style, and was then applied to Napoleon.^[9][2] Other dictionaries date it later: Etymonline to 1800, Barnhart to 1803 in the writings of Southey, and Dictionary.com to 1795–1805.^[9][6][10] From 1833 it was used more widely of anyone with controlling authority, or of an imperious, domineering person.^[2][11] Weekley, writing in 1921, thought the type extinct in politics except in new republics.^[12] The adjective autocratic is recorded from 1823, in Byron's Don Juan, borrowed from French autocratique.^[6]

Timeline

• 1762 – a ruler with absolute power, first as a title of Catherine II of Russia.^[2][4]
• 1833 – a person with controlling authority; a domineering person.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ruler with unlimited authority; an absolute monarch or despot.^[11][4][2]
2. A person who is domineering or dictatorial, or who rules unchallenged in some sphere: She was the autocrat of the office.^[11][4][2]

Word family

• autocratic
• autocratically

Related words

• autocracy
• autocrator
• democrat
• aristocrat

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray