Meanings
plural heterarchies
- uncountableThe rule of an alien; rule from without; government by an extraterritorial power.
Despite installing puppet governments in the marches, the subjects of the empire’s conquered territories were still very conscious of living under heterarchy.
- countableAn example of this government.
The proposed liberation of our largely undeveloped economy goes too far — the resulting foreign dominance of our markets would make us a heterarchy.
- countableuncountableA system of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked (non-hierarchical) or where they possess the potential to be ranked a number of different ways.
When a group operates as a heterarchy, everyone is a leader in their own domain.
Origin
From heter- (“other, different”) + -archy (“rule”).; equivalent to Katharevousa ἑτεραρχία (eterarchía) / Dimotiki ετεραρχία (eterarchía).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
heterarchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterarchy
“heterarchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterarchy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heterarchy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heterarchy.
Source: heterarchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.