Etymology

authoritarianism

Today it means: A form of government in which the governing body has absolute, or almost absolute, control. Typically this control is maintained by force, and little heed is paid to public opinion or the judicial system. Full definition →

English authoritarian ← Middle English auctorite ← Old French autorité
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewg-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂owg-éye-ti
  3. Proto-Italic*augejō
  4. Proto-Italic*augeō
  5. Latinaugeō
  6. Latinauctor
  7. Latinauctōritā
  8. Old Frenchautorité
  9. Middle Englishauctorite
  10. Englishauthority
  11. Englishauthoritarian
  12. English todayauthoritarianism

From authoritarian + -ism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.