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Origin and history of monarchy

monarchy(n.)

mid-14c., monarchie, "a kingdom, territory ruled by a monarch;" late 14c., "rule by one person with supreme power;" from Old French monarchie "sovereignty, absolute power" (13c.), from Late Latin monarchia, from Greek monarkhia "absolute rule," literally "ruling of one," from monos "alone" (from PIE root *men- (4) "small, isolated") + arkhein "to rule" (see archon). Meaning "form of government in which supreme power is in the hands of a monarch" is from early 15c.

also from mid-14c.

Entries linking to monarchy

archon(n.)

one of the nine chief magistrates of ancient Athens, 1650s, from Greek arkhon "ruler, commander, chief, captain," noun use of present participle of arkhein "be the first," thence "to begin, begin from or with, make preparation for;" also "to rule, lead the way, govern, rule over, be leader of," a word of uncertain origin.

aristocracy(n.)

1560s, "government by those who are the best citizens," from French aristocracie (Modern French aristocratie), from Late Latin aristocratia, from Greek aristokratia "government or rule of the best; an aristocracy," from aristos "best of its kind, noblest, bravest, most virtuous" (see aristo-) + abstract noun from kratos "rule, power" (see -cracy).

In early use contrasted with monarchy; after the French and American revolutions, with democracy. The meaning "rule by a privileged class, oligarchy, government by those distinguished by rank and wealth" (best-born or best-favored by fortune) is from 1570s and became paramount 17c. Hence the meaning "patrician order, the class of hereditary nobles" (1610s), and, generally, that of "persons notably superior in any way, taken collectively" (1650s).

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Trends of monarchy

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

monarch
mid-15c., monark, "supreme governor for life, a sole or autocratic ruler of a state," from Old French monarche (14c., Modern French monarque) and directly from Late Latin monarcha, from Greek monarkhēs "one who rules alone" (see monarchy). "In modern times generally a hereditary
republican
republican form of government or republican principles" (or, as Johnson puts it, "One who thinks a commonwealth without monarchy...
Macedonian
have been generally considered foreigners, though not barbarians, due to the important differences, such as government by monarchy...
limited
Limited edition is from 1869; limited monarchy from 1640s; limited war is from 1947....
Prussia
The German duchy of Prussia after the 17c. union with the Mark of Brandenberg became the core of the Prussian monarchy and...
restoration
The Restoration (1718) refers to the re-establishment of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660 (and by extension his whole...
absolute
Meaning "despotic" (1610s) is from notion of "absolute in position;" absolute monarchy is recorded from 1735 (absolute king...
empire
mid-14c., "territory subject to an emperor's rule;" in general "realm, dominion;" late 14c. as "authority of an emperor, supreme power in governing; imperial power," in Middle English generally of the Roman Empire. From Old French empire "rule, authority, kingdom, imperial rule"
autocracy
1650s, "independent power, self-sustained power, self-government" (obsolete), from French autocratie, from Latinized form of Greek autokrateia "absolute rule, rule by oneself," abstract noun from autokratēs "ruling by oneself," from autos "self" (see auto-) + kratia "rule" (see -
kingdom
Old English cyningdom; see king (n.) + -dom. Cognate with Old Saxon kuningdom, Middle Dutch koninghdom, Old Norse konungdomr. The usual Old English word was cynedom; Middle English also had kingrick (for second element, see the first element in Reichstag). Meaning "one of the rea

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