democracy meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

democracy

noun

UK /dɪˈmɒk.ɹə.si/ · US /dɪˈmɑ.kɹə.si/

Etymology From Middle French democratie (French démocratie), from Medieval Latin dēmocratia, from Ancient Greek δημοκρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (dēmokrătĭ́ā). By surface analysis, demo- (“people”) + -cracy (“rule”).

Rule by the people, especially as a form of government, such as

And the essential value and power of Democracy consists in this,—that it combines, as far as possible, power and organization ; THE SPIRIT, MANHOOD, is at one with THE BODY, ORGANIZATION. [....] Democracy is Government by the People.1866, J. Arthur Partridge, On Democracy, Trübner & Co., page 2:
The period, that is, which marks the transition from absolutism or aristocracy to democracy will mark also the transition from absolutist or autocratic methods of nomination to democratic methods.1901, The American Historical Review, American Historical Association, page 260:

4 more examples

A century ago there was in the Old World only one tiny spot in which the working of democracy could be studied. A few of the ancient rural cantons of Switzerland had recovered their freedom after the fall of Napoleon, and were governing themselves as they had done from the earlier Middle Ages[...]. Nowhere else in Europe did the people rule.1921, James Bryce Bryce, Modern Democracies, The Macmillan Company, page 1:
Everyone who wanted to speak did so. It was democracy in its purest form.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 24:
On this day in 1977, Taiwan witnessed a watershed moment in its march to democracy: the Chungli Incident. Violence broke out on the night of the largest-yet elections in the country’s history. Some 10,000 people took to the streets in protest following reports of election fraud on the part of the ruling Kuomintang.2017 November 19, “Today in History”, in Radio Taiwan International, archived from the original on 10 Sep 2022:
“If you have rule of the bureaucrat — if the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?” Musk said during his 30-minute appearance with Trump, where he rebuffed critics who said he’s the one undermining democratic institutions.2025 February 14, Marshall Cohen, “The almighty Musk: How the world’s richest man became Washington’s most powerful bureaucrat”, in CNN, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2025:

› Rule by the people, especially as a form of…

A form of government where the people elect representatives who propose and approve laws and administer the government on their behalf (representative democracy).

A form of government where the people vote directly on laws and government decisions (direct democracy).

Government A government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.

Of course, the Russians think it is something else because they say the Russians have a democracy and it is plain that their government is not what the Americans regard as a democracy.1947 March 16, Edwin L. James, “General Marshall Raises the Ideological Issue”, in The New York Times:
Since the wisest and most moral would not necessarily be the choice of the majority of people, Plato's Republic is not a democracy.1975, Robin Palmer, A Dictionary of Mythical Places, Henry Z. Walck, page 84:

1 more example

In 1900 not a single country had what we would today consider a democracy: a government created by elections in which every adult citizen could vote.2003, Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, W. W. Norton & Company, page 13:

A state with a democratic system of government.

Some countries which were originally monarchies, like the UK, have maintained their status as monarchies whilst also becoming democracies in the modern era; others, like France, completely disposed of their monarchies when they became democracies.
After almost four decades of authoritarian rule, South Africa became a democracy in April 1994.2002, Victor G. Hilliard, “The Role of Human Resource Development in South African Public Service Reform”, in Administrative Reform in Developing Nations, Praeger, page 179:

3 more examples

The United States was founded as a republic, not a democracy.2018 March, Yascha Mounk, “America Is Not a Democracy”, in The Atlantic:
Israel is not a democracy, as these elections proved once again. Democracy is the rule of the people, not the rule of one people over another.2019 April 28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine, archived from the original on 28 Oct 2022:
Biden led a virtual summit event in Washington focused on democracy delivering on global challenges, calling on democracies to continue to stand together amid global challenges.2023 March 29, Donald Judd, Maegan Vazquez, “Efforts to strengthen the world’s democracies are working, Biden says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2023:

Belief in political freedom and equality; the "spirit of democracy".

As states of the human spirit democracy, righteousness, and faith have much in common and may be cultivated by the same means...1918, Charles Horton Cooley, “A Primary Culture for Democracy”, in Publications of the American Sociological Society 13, page 8:
It must further be admitted that he provided a successful interpretation of democracy in its philosophic aspects when he conceived democracy as a general outlook on the universe... In Bakunin's conception of democracy as religious in character we trace the influence of French socialism.1919, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, The Spirit of Russia: Studies in History, Literature and Philosophy, Macmillan, page 446:

1 more example

The spirit of democracy means, above all, liberty of choice for human beings... democracy, in both its individual and collective forms, is the main engine of the eternal human striving for justice and prosperity.1996, Petre Roman, The Spirit of Democracy and the Fabric of NATO - The New European Democracies and NATO Enlargement, page 1:

Synonyms: democratism
Derived terms: 53 terms
algorithmocracy, antidemocracy, aristodemocracy, arsenal of democracy, authoritarian democracy, Christian democracy, counterdemocracy, crony democracy, cyberdemocracy, democracide, democracy sausage, democratize, democrazy, demokkkracy, demonocracy, dictatorship of democracy, direct democracy, dollar democracy, dotmocracy, dumbocracy, ecodemocracy, e-democracy, fax democracy, grassroots democracy, Islamocracy, liberal democracy, limited democracy, liquid democracy, majoritarian democracy, media democracy, nondemocracy, nuclear democracy, overdemocracy, participatory democracy, people's democracy, plutodemocracy, popular democracy, post-democracy, predemocracy, pro-democracy, protected democracy, pseudo-democracy, pseudodemocracy, pure democracy, quasidemocracy, socdem, social democracy, superdemocracy, tandemocracy, technodemocracy, teledemocracy, theodemocracy, Tory Democracy
Related terms: democrat, democratic
Coordinate terms: monarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship