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Origin and history of hagiarchy

hagiarchy(n.)

"government by persons in holy orders," 1826 (Southey, "Vindiciae Ecclesiae Anglicanae"); see hagio- "holy" + -archy "rule." Not to be confused with hagiocracy "government by persons considered holy" (1816), with -cracy.

also from 1826

Entries linking to hagiarchy

-archy

word-forming element of Greek origin meaning "rule," from Latin -archia, from Greek -arkhia "rule," from arkhos "leader, chief, ruler," from arkhē "beginning, origin, first place," verbal noun of arkhein "to be the first," hence "to begin" and "to rule" (see archon).

-cracy

word-forming element forming nouns meaning "rule or government by," from French -cratie or directly from Medieval Latin -cratia, from Greek -kratia "power, might; rule, sway; power over; a power, authority," from kratos "strength" (from PIE *kre-tes- "power, strength," suffixed form of root *kar- "hard").

Productive in English from c. 1800, the connective -o- has come to be viewed as part of it.

hagio-

before vowels hagi-, word-forming element meaning "of a saint, saintly, holy," from Greek hagios "sacred, devoted to the gods" (of things), "holy, pure" (of persons), in Ecclesiastical Greek, "a saint," which is perhaps from PIE *yag- "to worship, reverence" (source also of Greek agnos "chaste," Sanskrit yajati "reveres (a god) with sacrifices, worships," Old Persian ayadana "temple").

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