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tyranny

(tyrannos, ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word) was the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc. The term first occurs in Archilochus. Tyranny ...

tyranny

tyranny  

Dictionary of the Social Sciences

Reference type:
Subject Reference

... From the Greek turannos , meaning “absolute ruler.” Initially the term described the rule of a single individual, whether by force or with the tacit or formal consent of the people. By the fifth century bce , tyranny had acquired its more familiar association: unjust, illegitimate, and lawless rule. Plato and Aristotle described tyranny as a corrupt form of monarchy , in which the society serves the tyrant's ambition and egotism. The term still carries these connotations and is sometimes used to characterize societies in which individuals or single...

tyranny

tyranny   Quick reference

Andrew Reeve

A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (4 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Social sciences, Politics
Length:
122 words

... In classical thought, a corrupt form of monarchy in which a person ruled in his own interest. More generally, the abuse of the state’s coercive force in the absence of the rule of law. This absence more particularly suggests government by the will of the tyrant (cf. dictatorship ) and the arbitrary treatment of citizens, if not the systematic use of terror. Democratic theorists like J. S. Mill have been concerned to avoid the tyranny of the majority. They fear that the rights of minorities and the stability of expectations built on settled law could be...

tyranny

tyranny ((tyrannos, ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word))   Reference library

Victor Ehrenberg and P. J. Rhodes

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2012
Subject:
Classical studies, History
Length:
338 words

... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word) is the name given to the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The earliest occurrence of the term is in Archilochus ( tyrannis , fr. 19. 3 West). Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny was given a bad sense...

tyranny

tyranny   Quick reference

The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2007
Subject:
Classical studies, History
Length:
265 words

... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word) was the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The term first occurs in Archilochus . Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny acquired a bad reputation esp. from Plato and Aristotle , for whom it was the worst...

tyranny

tyranny   Reference library

Victor Ehrenberg and P. J. Rhodes

The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2014
Subject:
Classical studies, History
Length:
290 words

... ( tyrannos , ‘tyrant’, was perhaps a Lydian word ) is the name given to the form of monarchy set up by usurpers in many Greek states in the 7th and 6th cents. bc . The earliest occurrence of the term is in Archilochus ( tyrannis , fr. 19. 3 West). Tyranny was not a special form of constitution, or necessarily a reign of terror; the tyrant might either rule directly or retain the existing political institutions but exercise a preponderant influence over their working, and his rule might be benevolent or malevolent. Tyranny was given a bad sense...

Tyranny

Tyranny   Reference library

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2010
Subject:
Classical studies, History
Length:
1,194 words

...early tyrannies were thus implicated with the consent of the governed. Poleis under tyrannies appear to have prospered, although how broadly their benefits were distributed is unclear. Tyrants themselves certainly profited: they were generally envied for their personal wealth, which enabled them to underwrite public works and other ostentations. Tyranny acquired opprobrium partly because of the active opposition of some aristocrats, such as Solon, early on, but especially because of the ideological opposition of fifth-century Athenian democracy to tyranny and...

Tyranny

Tyranny   Reference library

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2014
Subject:
Religion, Social sciences, Politics
Length:
1,665 words

... . A word with a rich history in the Western lexicon, “tyranny” is today usually translated into Arabic and other languages spoken by Muslims as istibdād . This has become the usage since the publication at the turn of the twentieth century of Ṭabāʾiʿ al-istibdād wa-maṣāriʿ al-istiʿbād (The Characteristics of Tyranny and the Struggles against Enslavement) by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Kawākibī ( 1849–1902 ). Before that time tyranny (oppressive and unjust government; despotism—to cite a current English dictionary definition) was usually conveyed in Arabic by...

majority tyranny

majority tyranny   Quick reference

A Dictionary of Philosophy (3 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2016
Subject:
Philosophy
Length:
63 words

...tyranny The Achilles heel of modern democracies, whereby once one party has gained power it can systematically ignore or predate upon the interests of the minority, for instance by changing the electoral system to facilitate its future power. The idea of a constitution, and of judicial review of law-making in the light of the constitution, is one check on this...

Taxation No Tyranny

Taxation No Tyranny   Reference library

The Oxford Companion to American Literature (6 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2004
Subject:
Literature
Length:
8 words

...No Tyranny , tract by Dr. Samuel Johnson...

‘Eleven Years Tyranny’

‘Eleven Years Tyranny’   Quick reference

A Dictionary of British History (3 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2015
Subject:
History, Regional and National History
Length:
95 words

...Years Tyranny’ ( 1629–40 ). After the tumultuous end to the 1629 session of Parliament ( see Eliot, Sir John ) Charles I broke with convention by ruling without Parliament for eleven years. Financial needs were met through prerogative levies, the most notorious of which was ship money, and the prerogative court of Star Chamber supervised the maintenance of order. This was hardly a tyranny, for Charles had no police force or army to compel obedience. Charles's own misjudgement in the Bishops' wars brought the ‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ to an...

‘Eleven Years Tyranny’

‘Eleven Years Tyranny’ (1629–40)   Reference library

Roger Lockyer

The Oxford Companion to British History (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2015
Subject:
History, Regional and National History
Length:
133 words

...Years Tyranny’ ( 1629–40 ) . After the tumultuous end to the 1629 session of Parliament ( see Eliot, Sir John ) Charles I broke with convention—though not with law—by ruling without Parliament for eleven years. Financial needs were met through prerogative levies, the most notorious of which was ship money , and the prerogative court of Star Chamber supervised the maintenance of order in both state and church. This was hardly a tyranny, for Charles had no police force or standing army to compel obedience. Indeed, despite widespread resentment...

despotism and tyranny

despotism and tyranny   Reference library

The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2010
Subject:
History, Early history (500 CE to 1500)
Length:
263 words

...a tyrant’s killer was praised, but recommended Christian acquiescence. Further, he addressed the tyranny of the majority (as in a *city-state ), extending the application of the concept outside monarchy. The emergence of the one-man rule of lords ( * signorie ) in Italy from the mid 13th century further focused discussion of tyranny. Their republican opponents described them as tyrants or despots. *Bartolo of Sassoferrato distinguished two kinds of tyranny: through defective title to rule, and through acting tyrannically. As signorie became seen as...

tyranny of numbers

tyranny of numbers   Quick reference

A Dictionary of African Politics

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2019

...tyranny of numbers A phrase coined by the political commentator and consultant Mutahi Ngunyi to refer to the ethnic distribution of votes in the 2013 Kenyan elections. Despite the fact that Ngunyi was specifically talking about his belief that the country’s ethnic make-up meant that Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee Alliance would inevitably defeat Raila Odinga and the Coalition for Reform and Democracy ( CORD ), the term has since entered common usage. Most notably, although Ngunyi’s argument was criticized for being self-serving on the basis that...

Tyranny, “Blue” Gene

Tyranny, “Blue” Gene (1 Jan 1945)   Reference library

Cole Gagne

The Grove Dictionary of American Music (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Music, Social sciences, Regional and Area Studies
Length:
657 words

...Jim Horton), elec, 1998 ; The Keys, études for standard and hypothetical kbds, incl. Holding Hands (Broca's Area) for hand movements and infrared elec, 1999 Bibliography C. Gagne : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Sonic Transports (New York, 1990), 139–94 C. Gagne : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Soundpieces 2 (Metuchen, NJ, 1993), 413–38 B. Duckworth : “‘Blue’ Gene Tyranny,” Talking Music (New York, 1995), 389–417 K. Gann : American Music in the twentieth Century (New York, 1997) Cole Gagne /R...

tyranny of the majority

tyranny of the majority   Quick reference

A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (4 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2018
Subject:
Social sciences, Politics
Length:
390 words

...would be a further protection against majority tyranny. Critics of Madison have pointed out that his formula gives no protection to minorities which do not form a local majority anywhere. In particular, the Madisonian constitution gave no effective protection to black Americans until the 1960s, largely because the states’ rights which Madison thought it so important to protect were used by the white majorities in the Southern states to oppress the local black minorities. J. S. Mill’s solutions to majority tyranny were proportional representation and extra...

Victims of tyranny, The

Victims of tyranny, The (1847)   Reference library

The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2006
Subject:
Literature
Length:
333 words

...of tyranny, The (2 vols, Buffalo, 1847 ). This early Canadian novel by Charles E. Beardsley is a republican's version of the political and personal conflicts in the brief public career of a young Irish immigrant to York (Toronto), Upper Canada. The hero, Joseph Wilcox, is a thinly disguised representation of the actual Joseph Willcocks , a member of the legislative assembly and critic of government who was killed fighting with the Americans in the War of 1812 . Wilcox is presented as a romantic paragon, a champion of truth and justice and tragic...

tyranny

tyranny n   Reference library

The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2016

...tyranny n m 'tɪrǝnǝɪ, -ǝˌnǝɪ sp tiranny 2 , tirranie 2 , tirranny 1 , tirrany 3 , tyrannie 10 , tyranny 14 , [high-sighted]-tyranny 1 , tyrrany 1 rh incertainty S 115.9 ; misery VA 737 ; perpetuity 1H6 4.7.19 ...

tyranny

tyranny   Quick reference

New Oxford Rhyming Dictionary (2 ed.)

Reference type:
Subject Reference
Current Version:
2013
Subject:
Language reference
Length:
158 words

... • Léonie , peony • Tierney • Briony , bryony, Hermione • tourney • ebony • Albany • chalcedony • Alderney • Persephone , Stephanie, telephony • antiphony , epiphany, polyphony, tiffany • symphony • cacophony , homophony, theophany, Zoffany • euphony • agony • garganey • Antigone • cosmogony , mahogany, theogony • balcony • Gascony • Tuscany • calumny • felony , Melanie, miscellany • villainy • colony • Chamonix , salmony, scammony, Tammany • harmony • anemone , Emeny, hegemony, lemony, Yemeni • alimony , palimony • agrimony...

tyranny

tyranny n.   Quick reference

Pocket Oxford German Dictionary: English German (4 ed.)

Reference type:
Bilingual Dictionary
Current Version:
2012
Subject:
Bilingual dictionaries
Length:
5 words
tyranny

tyranny n   Quick reference

Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary: English-Latin (3 ed.)

Reference type:
Bilingual Dictionary
Current Version:
2012
Subject:
Bilingual dictionaries, Classical studies
Length:
5 words

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