bureaucracy English · revision 2379

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bjʊəˈɹɒk.ɹə.si/ ''(UK)''; /bjʊˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/, /bjɚˈɹɑ.kɹə.si/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|bureaucratie]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[af|fr|bureau|-cratie|t1=office, desk|t2=rule]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) coined by the French economist Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay (1712–1759) on the model of ''démocratie'' and ''aristocratie''.^(Etymonline) The second element is from the Greek suffix ''-kratía'' “power”.^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Government by bureaus or departments; officialism; and government officials collectively (1818).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start the word carried a critical edge, describing an excessive multiplication of offices and a concentration of power in them, with a tendency to meddle and to be inefficient and inflexible.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) It also names the body of officials neutrally,^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) and, in sociology, a system marked by specialized functions, fixed rules and a hierarchy of authority.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) The most common informal sense is excessive red tape.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1818 – government by bureaus; officials collectively.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Administration of a government through departments staffed by non-elected officials.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The body of officials and administrators, especially of a government.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A system of administration with specialized functions, fixed rules and a hierarchy of authority.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Administration marked by red tape, rigid routine and a proliferation of offices.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bureaucrat]]

+ * [[bureaucratese]]

+ * [[bureaucratic]]

+ * [[bureaucratize]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bureau]]

+ * [[democracy]]

+ * [[aristocracy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}