Etymograph

English

democratic

Democratic comes from Middle French democratique, from Late Latin democraticus, from Greek δημοκρατικός ‘of democracy’, from δημοκρατία ‘democracy’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ1dēmokrătĭ́ā‘democracy’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδημοκρᾰτῐκός1dēmokrătĭkós‘of or for democracy’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdemocraticus1‘pertaining to democracy’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600democratique1‘pertaining to democracy’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1599democratic1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English democratic
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, [James IV of Scotland, Of a Kings Dvtie in His Office. The Second Booke.: “[S]ome firie ſpirited men in the Miniſterie, got ſuch…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱWiktionary, English democraticdēmokrătĭ́ā‘democracy’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδημοκρᾰτῐκόςWiktionary, English democraticdēmokrătĭkós‘of or for democracy’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdemocraticusWiktionary, English democratic‘pertaining to democracy’
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600democratiqueWiktionary, English democratic‘pertaining to democracy’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1599democraticWiktionary, English democratic. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, [James IV of Scotland, Of a Kings Dvtie in His Office. The Second Booke.: “[S]ome firie ſpirited men in the Miniſterie, got ſuch…”

The story

From Middle French democratique (‘pertaining to democracy, democratic’) (modern French démocratique), and its etymon Late Latin democraticus (‘pertaining to democracy, democratic; democrat’), from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐκός (dēmokrătĭkós, “of or for democracy; favouring or suited for democracy”), from δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā, “democracy”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, suffix with the sense ‘of or pertaining’ to forming adjectives). Δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (Dēmokrătĭ́ā) is derived from δῆμος (dêmos, “the common people; free citizens, sovereign people; popular assembly; popular government, democracy”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂- (‘to divide; to share’)) + -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā, suffix meaning ‘government; rule’) (from κρᾰ́τος (krắtos, “might, strength; dominion, power”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret- (‘insight, intelligence; strength’)) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with democratic, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Ancient Greek δῆμος ‘common people", "assembly of the people’

29 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

adj Pertaining to democracy; constructed upon or in line with the principle of government chosen by the people.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “democratic”. 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 / Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ / democratic