Etymograph

English

autocrator

Autocrator comes from Late Latin autocratōr ‘emperor’, from Ancient Greek κράτωρ ‘ruler’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strength’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-1‘strength’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krét-os1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκράτος2krátos‘power, strength’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρατέω2kratéō‘to rule, command’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκράτωρ2‘ruler’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτοκράτωρ3autokrátōr‘emperor’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEautocratōr3‘emperor’
  8. Englishtodayautocrator3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κράτος
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρ
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English autocrator

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κράτος‘strength’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krét-osWiktionary, Ancient Greek κράτοςreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκράτοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρkrátos‘power, strength’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρατέωWiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρkratéō‘to rule, command’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκράτωρWiktionary, Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρ‘ruler’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEαὐτοκράτωρWiktionary, English autocratorautokrátōr‘emperor’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEautocratōrWiktionary, English autocrator‘emperor’
  8. EnglishtodayautocratorWiktionary, English autocrator

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kret- ‘strength’

hard, rather, 44 more

through Proto-Indo-European *krét-os

bureaucracy, bureaucratic, bureaucrat, 33 more

through Ancient Greek κράτος ‘power, strength’

aristocracy, 6 more

Today it means

noun —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “autocrator”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κράτος, Ancient Greek αὐτοκράτωρ. 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 *kret- / autocrator

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