–noun, plural -cies. 1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. 2. a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies. 3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. 4. political or social equality; democratic spirit. 5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power. Origin: 1525–35; < MF démocratie < LL dēmocratia < Gk dēmokratía popular government, equiv. to dēmo- demo- + -kratia -cracy de·moc·ra·cy (dĭ-mŏk'rə-sē) n. pl. de·moc·ra·cies Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives. A political or social unit that has such a government. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power. Majority rule. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community. [French démocratie, from Late Latin dēmocratia, from Greek dēmokratiā : dēmos, people; see dā- in Indo-European roots + -kratiā, -cracy.] Cultural Dictionary democracy A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.Note: Democratic institutions, such as parliaments, may exist in a monarchy. Such constitutional monarchies as Britain, Canada, and Sweden are generally counted as democracies in practice. Word Origin & History democracy 1574, from M.Fr. democratie, from M.L. democratia (13c.), from Gk. demokratia, from demos "common people," originally "district" (see demotic), + kratos "rule, strength" (see -cracy). Democratic for one of the two major U.S. political parties is 1829, though members of the Democratic-Republican (formerly Anti-Federal) party had been called Democrats since 1798; though colloquial abbrev. Demo dates to 1793. Legal Dictionary Main Entry: de·moc·ra·cy Pronunciation: di-'mä-kr&-sE Function: noun Inflected Form: plural -cies 1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections 2 : a political unit that has a democratic government —dem·o·crat·ic /"de-m&-'kra-tik/ adjective —dem·o·crat·i·cal·ly adverb
Well, it's certainly not a bad question. However, I thought LJDV'S lengthy response was a brilliant one -- with a little help from a dictionary or two. --QP
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter” Winston Churchill And for any discworld fans out there a variation on the second of Winston’s quotes. “Vimes had once discussed the Ephebian idea of ‘democracy’ with Carrot, and had been rather interested in the idea that everyone had a vote until he found out that while he, Vimes, would have a vote, there was no way in the rules that anyone could prevent Nobby Nobbs from having one as well. Vimes could see the flaw there straight away.” Terry Prachett
