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A.Word.A.Day--autarchy

autarchy (O-tahr-kee) noun

1. Absolute rule or power; autocracy.

2. A country under such rule.

3. Variant of autarky.

[From Greek autarkhos, self-governing, autarch : aut-, auto-, auto- + arkhos, ruler (from arkhein, to rule).]

autarky (O-tahr-kee) noun

1. A policy of national self-sufficiency and nonreliance on imports or economic aid.

2. A self-sufficient region or country.

[Greek autarkeia, self-sufficiency, from autarkes, self-sufficient : aut-, auto-, + arkein, to suffice.]

"The paranoid autarchy of North Korea, even with Kim Il Sung gone, is just as unlikely to tolerate dissenting views." Jeff Trimble, U.S. diplomacy and the Bobby Hall story, U.S. News & World Report, Jan 9, 1995.

"The fascist authorities, anticipating the Duce's involvement in a European war, embarked on a strict policy of autarchy, designed to make the empire as far as possible, self-sufficient. Horse-drawn garries, or carts, were for example introduced as a substitute for cars making use of petrol." Richard Pankhurst, A History Of Early Twentieth Century Ethiopia, The Addis Tribune (Ethiopia), Feb 28,1997.

This week's theme: words about government, politics, and elections.

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