dictatorship

Etymology

It is formed from English dictator + -ship,^[2][3][4][5] probably at first after Latin dictātūra, the source of dictature.^[2] Its base comes from Latin dictātor, an agent noun from dictō (“to say often, prescribe”), a frequentative of dīcō (“to say, speak”).^[3] In the phrase “dictatorship of the proletariat” the word follows German Diktatur des Proletariats.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The office of a dictator, or the period of a dictator's rule: 1542, in Nicholas Udall's translation of Erasmus's Apophthegmes.^[2][6] Etymonline dates the word to the 1580s, as the office or term of a Roman dictator.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Like dictator, the word first referred to the temporary office of absolute power in the Roman republic.^[3][2] From 1580, in a translation of Foxe, it was also used of absolute authority in any sphere, or of overbearing behaviour,^[2] a sense Etymonline dates to the late 17th century.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave both "the office of dictator" and "authority; insolent confidence".^[5] The modern political sense, a system of government by one person with absolute power, or a state so ruled, is recorded from 1817, in an account of the battle of Waterloo.^[2] Merriam-Webster extends it to rule by a small group without constitutional limits.^[6] Dictatorship of the proletariat, from Marxist theory, appears in English in 1895, in The Times.^[2]

Timeline

• 1542 – the office or rule of a dictator.^[2][6]
• 1580 – absolute authority in any sphere.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson: the office of dictator; authority, insolent confidence.^[5]
• 1817 – government by one person with absolute power; a state so ruled.^[2]
• 1895 – dictatorship of the proletariat.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A form of government in which one person or a small group holds absolute power, or a country governed in this way: The coup turned the young republic into a dictatorship.^[7][6][2]
2. The office, rank or period of rule of a dictator.^[7][6][2]
3. Absolute power or authority in any field.^[7][6][2]
4. dictatorship of the proletariat: in Marxist theory, rule by the working class after the overthrow of capitalism.^[2]

Related words

• dictator
• dictate
• dictature

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins