Italian

Noun

oligarchia f ‎(plural oligarchie)

1. (politics) oligarchy

Related terms

• oligarca
• oligarchicamente
• oligarchico

Latin

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀλιγαρχία ‎(oligarkhía).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /o.liˈɡar.kʰi.a/, [ɔ.lɪˈɡar.kʰi.a]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /o.liˈɡar.ki.a/

Noun

oligarchia f ‎(genitive oligarchiae); first declension

1. (Late Latin, politics) oligarchy
   • 1313, Dante Alighieri, De monarchia, Liber I:

     Genus humanum solum imperante Monarcha, sui, et non alterius gratia, est: tunc enim solum Politiae diriguntur obliquae, democratiae scilicet, oligarchiae atque tyrannides, quae in servitute cogunt genus humanum.

     Only when the monarch rules, mankind exists for his own sake, and not of others: for only then are the twisted governments rightened, namely democracies, oligarchies and tyrannies, which force mankind into slavery.

Inflection

First declension.

Related terms

• oligarcha
• oligarchicus