| 释义 |
des·pot
\ˈdespə]t, -ˌspä], usu ]d.+V\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle French, despot, despote, from Greek despotēs master, lord, despot; akin to Sanskrit dampati lord of the house; both from a prehistoric compound whose first and second constituents are akin respectively to Latin domus house and to Latin potis able — more at timber, potent
1.
a. : a Byzantine emperor or a prince of his imperial house : a vassal prince — used as a title of honor or address
b. : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church
c. : a petty Christian ruler tributary to the Turks after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople
< the despot of Morea >
d. : an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
2.
a. : a ruler with absolute or virtually absolute power and authority : autocrat
< Lord Curzon, the most enigmatic and greatest of those benevolent despots — W.B.Willcox >
b. : a ruler exercising absolute power abusively, oppressively, or tyrannously : tyrant
< as a despot he ruled by the force of arms >
3.
a. : a person having recognized and complete governance or authority and usually domineering or oppressive
< affection by itself can turn an old nurse into a cranky despot — Joyce Cary >
b. : an animal or thing that seems to hold dominance and strict control
< it is not necessarily the strongest bird which becomes despot — E.A.Armstrong >
< the tireless machine is the despot of our age — Waldemar Kaempffert > |