There are a lot of interesting words floating around in the right-wing rhetoric these days. Taxes, of course, are considered really bad, particularly by people who don’t believe that government should provide any services. Then President Obama is often described as a tyrant or despot by those who disagree with his actions and/or skin color. One right-wing blogger recently wrote:
The 2nd amendment is not for hunting, not for personal protection, it is for the removal of arrogant tyrannical officials.
Let’s take a brief look at the etymology of some of these words.
Tyrant:
The word “tyrant,” meaning “absolute ruler” with the implied meaning that the ruler was cruel and oppressive, came into English about 1300 from the Old French “tiran” which came from the Latin “tyrannus” meaning “lord, master, monarch, despot.” From the Latin, we can trace the etymology back to the Greek “tyrannos” meaning “lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler unlimited by law or constitution.”
Tyrants first appeared in Greece in the seventh century BCE in the form of rogue aristocrats who seized power. Initially the Greek word “tyrannos” described an unconstitutional ruler, boss, or chief. It did not originally carry the concept of dictator. Tyranny in Ancient Greece emerged from the increasing gap between the ruling aristocracies and common Greeks. As the wealthy imported their luxury goods and lived their elegant lifestyles, discontentment grew. Nigel Rodgers, in his book The Complete Illustrated History of Ancient Greece, reports:
“The nobles still monopolized power, but often treated politics as a frivolous if risky game between rival families, like the athletic contests they still dominated. But most Greeks wanted eunomia (good government, not statis (the chaotic strife of aristocratic factions.”
Rodgers also points out:
“Tyranny was therefore a transitional phase for most Greek cities, with only unstable Sicilian cities reverting to tyranny in later years. And one supremely important state never experienced tyranny: Sparta.”
Despot:
The English word “despot” is also from Greek. The Greek “despótēs” means “lord.” In Ancient Greece “despótēs” did not have a pejorative connotation, but was simply used to refer to a ruler, and at this time, rulers had absolute power. English acquired “despot” in the 1560s from the Medieval Latin “despota” via the Old French “despot” and modified its meaning to imply a “tyrannical ruler.”
The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) basis of “despot” is “*dems-pota-” meaning “house-master.” The English word “domestic” also stems from this root. The second part of the PIE compound, “pota” became the basis for the Latin “potis” (“able”) and the English “power.”
It should be noted that the United States Declaration of Independence accused the British government of despotism.
Tax:
The noun “tax,” meaning “obligatory contribution levied by a sovereign government,” came into English in the fourteenth century from the Anglo-French “tax” which was based on the Old French “taxe” which in turn stemmed from the Medieval Latin “taxa” which is based on the verb “taxāre” meaning “to touch, evaluate, estimate, assess, handle.” The Latin “taxāre” was derived from “tangere” meaning “to touch.”
The verb “to tax” also came into English in the fourteenth century from the Old French “taxer” which stemmed from the Latin “taxāre.”