Etymograph

English

plutocracy

Plutocracy comes from Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία ‘rule of the wealthy’, from πλέω ‘to float, sail’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-1‘to sail, flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pléwō1‘to sail’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλέω2pléō‘to float, sail’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλοῦτος3‘wealth’root of πλέω
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλουτοκρατία4ploutokratía‘rule of the wealthy’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1897plutocracy4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλέω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλοῦτος
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English plutocracy
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, anonymous author, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons: “Plutocracy, which is virtually supreme to-day, is to be…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek πλέω‘to sail, flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pléwōWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλέω‘to sail’reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλέωWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλοῦτοςpléō‘to float, sail’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλοῦτοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία‘wealth’root of πλέω
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλουτοκρατίαWiktionary, English plutocracyploutokratía‘rule of the wealthy’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1897plutocracyWiktionary, English plutocracy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1897, anonymous author, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons: “Plutocracy, which is virtually supreme to-day, is to be…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘to sail, flow’

fly, flow, flew, pneumonia, fowl, plough, flue, flay, plover, 25 more

through Ancient Greek πλοῦτος ‘wealth’

plutonium, 1 more

Today it means

noun Government by the wealthy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “plutocracy”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek πλέω, Ancient Greek πλοῦτος, Ancient Greek πλουτοκρατία. 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 *plew- / plutocracy

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