nepotarchy

N1E1P3O1T1A1R1C3H4Y4

noun

A government run by multiple members of the same family.

OriginLatin nepōs →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounnepotarchy (plural nepotarchies)

plural nepotarchies

  1. A government run by multiple members of the same family.

    But what Mr. Dudman said last February about the unpopularity of the repressive Diem family nepotarchy, and the problems of bringing democracy to Saigon and winning the war against the Communist guerrillas, has been amply supported by what has transpired in the last 8 months.

    1963 October 29, “Closed Door to Vietnam”, in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Origin

  1. Latinnepōs
  2. Englishnepotarchy

From Latin nepōs + -archia, coined by American journalist Richard Dudman in February of 1963. By surface analysis, nepotism + -archy.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

trachyponetarphycone
Cite this entry
APA

nepotarchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotarchy

MLA

“nepotarchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotarchy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nepotarchy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nepotarchy.

Source: nepotarchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.