Dynasty

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdɪnəsti/

Definitions

1. A succession of rulers from the same family or lineage who maintain power over a region or empire across multiple generations
2. a sequence of successive rulers descended from the same family line who govern a territory across generations
3. a continuous line of hereditary monarchs or leaders from a single family who hold dominion over a region through multiple reigns

Etymology: The Greek word "dunasteia" meant "power" or "dominion," coming from "dunastes," a lord or ruler, which itself grew from the verb for being able. So the notion at the heart of "dynasty" was never really about blood or bloodlines; it was about might. A ruling house was a family that held power, and the family line was simply how that power was passed along. The word passed into Late Latin as "dynastia" and then into Middle French as "dynastie," and English borrowed it from French. Over time the sense narrowed from the abstract idea of power or rule to a concrete succession of rulers from one family, which is the meaning it carries today. The shift from "power" to "a family that holds it" is a neat reminder that the people in charge were often the ones who could make their children's claims stick.

Synonyms: lineage, house, family, clan, bloodline

Antonyms: interregnum