Etymology

idiocracy

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Today it means: A government run by idiots. Full definition →

Ancient Greek κρᾰ́τος (krắtos) ← Proto-Indo-European *kret- ← English idiot
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The story

  1. Englishidiot
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kret-
  3. Ancient Greekκρᾰ́τος (krắtos)
  4. English todayidiocracy

From idiot + -cracy. The word was coined by the writers of a 2006 movie about the topic, which some have interpreted as presaging, through caricature, the state of the world.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.