polity

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pol·i·ty

(pŏl′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. pol·i·ties

1. The form of government of a nation, state, church, or organization.

2. An organized society, such as a nation, having a specific form of government: "His alien philosophy found no roots in the American polity" (New York Times).

[Obsolete French politie, from Old French, from Late Latin polītīa, the Roman government; see police.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

polity

(ˈpɒlɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a form of government or organization of a state, church, society, etc; constitution

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a politically organized society, state, city, etc

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the management of public or civil affairs

4. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) political organization

[C16: from Latin polītīa, from Greek politeia citizenship, civil administration, from politēs citizen, from polis city]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pol•i•ty

(ˈpɒl ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. a particular form or system of government: civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.

2. a state or other organized community or body.

3. the condition of being constituted as a state or other organized community or body.

4. government or administrative regulation.

[1530–40; < Latin polītīa < Greek polīteía citizenship, government =polite-, variant s. of politēs citizen (see polis, -ite¹) + -ia -ia]

polity

Any form of government or organized society.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	polity - the form of government of a social organization civil order order - established customary state (especially of society); "order ruled in the streets"; "law and order"
	2.	polity - a politically organized unit organization, organisation - a group of people who work together authorities, government, regime - the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit; "the government reduced taxes"; "the matter was referred to higher authorities"
	3.	polity - shrewd or crafty management of public affairs; "we was innocent of stratagems and polity" administration, disposal - a method of tending to or managing the affairs of a some group of people (especially the group's business affairs)

polity

noun

An organized geopolitical unit:

body politic, country, land, nation, state.

Translations

polity

[ˈpɒlɪtɪ] N (= form of government) → gobierno m, forma f de gobierno; (= politically organized state) → estado m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

polity

n (= form of government) → politische Ordnung, Staats- or Regierungsform f; (= politically organized society) → Staat (→ swesen nt) m, → Gemeinwesen nt; (= management of public affairs) → Staatsverwaltung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

"I suspect you and he are brewing some bad polities, else you would not be seeing so much of the lively man.

View in context

Sharman shows instead that European expansion from the late 15th to the late 18th centuries is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, diseases in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea.

What We Are Reading Today: Empires of the Weak by J. C. Sharman

However, at the higher - regional, provincial, state or national - levels, the polities and constituencies would become so large that the formation and belonging to political parties may become necessary for some people.

The duty, the science and the art of politics

The first ever labor affairs consultation meeting between Taiwan and the EU on Monday marks a milestone in cooperation between the two polities, according to Deputy Labor Minister Lin San-kuei.

EU and Taiwan labor consultation a 'milestone' in cooperation

4 -- An amazing fact about the Indian Constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India (CA) on November 26, 1949 is that out of 35 constitutional polities born after World War II, India is the only country which survives with its Constitution.

Anniversary Of Indian Constitution

Except in well established federal polities such as the U.S., which are sustained by durable institutions, fool-proof mechanisms and crystallized conventions, de-limiting the powers, obligations and boundaries of the state and federal governments.

STRENGTHENING FEDERAL POLITY

Tonio Andrade surveys the Ming-Qing policy toward overseas expansion from 1500 to 1700 and reconfirms the scholarly consensus that the Asian states and empire were land-oriented polities. Focusing on the Chinese conflict with the Dutch on Taiwan, Andrade points out that although the Chinese were capable of fending off the European overseas empires, they were indifferent to the idea of overseas expansion because their primary revenue came from agriculture rather than sea trade.

Asian Expansions: The Historical Experiences of Polity Expansion in Asia

Furthermore, this ruling hierarchy must know that it is only in regimented polities and despotic autocracies where the people at the top of the state apparatus can have their way as they like.

Irresponsible act

Bosma (international and comparative social history, VU University, Amsterdam), Kessler (social history, European University Institute, Italy), and Lucassen (social history, Leiden University, the Netherlands) in an interdisciplinary and comparative effort, aim to inspire historians and social scientists "to explore the full potential of comparative research within the nexus of state formation, membership, and migration," which they hope will lead to new insights vis-a-vis different polities' handling of inclusion and exclusion.

Migration and membership regimes in global and historical perspective; an introduction

If the outcomes of conflicts are mostly determined by the polities' wealth or power, if there exist well-defined and accepted means of succession, and if control mechanisms within polities are internally specialized then the stability of large, complex polities is strongly promoted.