democracy
/dɪˈmɒkrəsi/·디모크러시·noun
government by the people
GreekCEFR B1
Root
demo- (people) + Greek 'kratos' (power, rule)
Greek dēmokratia (rule by the people) → Latin democratia → French démocratie → English democracy
In a word
demo (people) + kratia (rule) = 'rule by the people'. The concept was born in the Athenian city-states. The same demo lives in epidemic (something travelling across the people); kratia recurs in autocracy and aristocracy. Half of our political vocabulary started inside one city.
Examples
Democracy depends on free elections.
Many countries adopted democracy in the 20th century.
Education is vital for a healthy democracy.
Related
epidemicdemographicpandemicdemocraticautocracy