Polity
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Organizational structure and governance, especially of a state or a religion. uncountable, usually
"Church polity was a topic of fierce dispute in 17th-century Britain."
- 2 shrewd or crafty management of public affairs wordnet
- 3 A politically organized unit, especially a nation of people, a class or ingroup that governs it, or the state ruled thereby. countable
"New polities emerged in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire."
- 4 a politically organized unit wordnet
- 5 the form of government of a social organization wordnet
Example
More examples"Since that time the distinction between the two races, the conqueror or Gothic and the Roman or conquered, had almost disappeared, and the men of the north had become confounded with those of midday in a single nation, to whose grandiosity had contributed that with the rough virtues of savage Germania, this with the traditions of Roman culture and polity."
Etymology
From Middle French politie, from Latin polītīa, from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía, “polity, policy, the state”). Doublet of police, policy, and polis (“police”).
Related phrases
More for "polity"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.