English → Latin
“democracy” in Latin
imperiumThe empire, state, imperial government, realm, dominion.; The right or power to command or be in control; dominion.; Abscīvitāscitizenship and its rights; often referring to Roman citizenship.; the state, body politic, citizens of a territory (col
The English word democracy itself goes back to Latin dēmocratia.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
democracy
ea imperii forma, qua vis omnis penes populum est (Liv. 1, 43); ratio popularis; populi potentia or imperium; populi potestas omnium rerum (as a form of government): civitas (res publica) popularis (opposed to civitas regia); civitas, in qua in populo sunt omnia; civitas, quae a populo tenetur; civitas in qua omnia per populum geruntur; civitas, in qua populi potestas summa est; res publica, in qua per populum aguntur, et sunt in populi potestate omnia; res publica in qua populus plurimum potest, omniaque ejus arbitrio geruntur; res publica, quae populo, or populi potestate, regitur (all as states. For most of these expressions, Vid: Cic., de Rep., 1, 26- 28; 3, 14, 33 and 35). For “a pure democracy,” take the strongest of these terms. To have an antipathy to a democracy, aversum esse a ratione populari.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for democracy?
- The usual Latin words for “democracy” are imperium, cīvitās. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.