Cratic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A suffix used to form adjectives indicating a specific type of rule or government, such as in terms like democratic or autocratic
2. A component of words that denotes a system of governance or control, often employed in political terminology
3. An affix that signifies a relationship to governance or ruling power, seen in various political contexts and formations

Etymology: "Cratic" is not a word that arrived on its own. It is a suffix, and its job is to turn a noun about power or rule into an adjective. The Greek root "kratos" meant strength, power or dominion, and the Greek adjective "kratikos" meant relating to such power. That adjective passed into French as "-cratique," which English then took up in words like aristocratic, from "aristokratia," rule by the best. The suffix works like a switch. Attach it to a Greek or Latin-style base and you get a new adjective describing the system of government or authority it names, so "democratic" means relating to rule by the people, "autocratic" to rule by one person acting alone, and "bureaucratic" to rule through offices and officials. English speakers generally met these words first in political writing, and the pattern has been extended freely to coinages such as "technocratic" and "plutocratic."

Synonyms: democratic, bureaucratic, autocratic, theocratic, aristocratic

Antonyms: anarchic, undemocratic, nonbureaucratic, nonautocratic, nonaristocratic