politics
/ˈpɒlətɪks/·폴리틱스·noun
the activities of governing
GreekCEFR B1
Root
Greek 'polis' (city-state) + -ics (study/practice of)
Greek politikos (of the city) → Aristotle's Politika → Latin politica → English politics (16th c.)
In a word
Greek polis = 'city-state'. What Athenian citizens did to run their polis became politics. The same polis lives in metropolis (mother-city), cosmopolitan (citizen of the world). Inside the word "politics" sleeps an older meaning: running the city together. Even "office politics" is family — life inside one small polis called the workplace.
Examples
He has worked in politics for twenty years.
Local politics shape daily life.
Office politics can be exhausting.
Related
metropolismetropolitancosmopolitanpoliticalpolicy