English
autarchy
Autarchy comes from Koine Greek αὐταρχία ‘absolute power, sovereignty, autocracy’, from Ancient Greek ἄρχω ‘to rule, govern’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, put together’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to fit, put together’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r̥-sḱe-ti1‘to start, rule’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄρχω2‘to rule, govern’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὔταρχος3‘autocratic, absolute’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEαὐταρχία2autarkhía‘absolute power, sovereignty, autocracy’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500autarchia2
- Englishearliest quotation 1964autarchy2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω
- 2 Wiktionary, English autarchy
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐταρχία
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Jan Morris, Envoi: State of Being: “Like Philip's, Franco's autarchy was shrouded in religiosity—not Christianity…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω‘to fit, put together’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r̥-sḱe-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek ἄρχω‘to start, rule’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄρχωWiktionary, English autarchy‘to rule, govern’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὔταρχοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐταρχία‘autocratic, absolute’
- Koine Greekc. 300 BCE–600 CEαὐταρχίαWiktionary, English autarchyautarkhía‘absolute power, sovereignty, autocracy’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500autarchiaWiktionary, English autarchy
- Englishearliest quotation 1964autarchyWiktionary, English autarchy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Jan Morris, Envoi: State of Being: “Like Philip's, Franco's autarchy was shrouded in religiosity—not Christianity…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, put together’
order, reason, ready, rate, art, article, army, artist, arm, ratio, ordinary, alarm, harmony, coordination, coordinate, armor, arthritis, subordinate, ordination, articulate, ornament, arithmetic, ornate, inertia, harmonic, aristocratic, inert, artisan, adorn, harmonious, articulation, ordinate, armament, ordinator, ordinal, armadillo, harmonize, rime, ordain, artifice, 76 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥-sḱe-ti ‘to start, rule’
anarchy, archon, arche, 9 more
through Ancient Greek ἄρχω ‘to rule, govern’
Today it means
noun A condition of absolute power.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “autarchy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek ἄρχω, Ancient Greek αὐταρχία. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / autarchy