gerontocracy
/ˌdʒɛɹənˈtɒkɹəsi/
gerontocracy means government by elders; government by elderly rulers. It carries an Arena rating of 1579, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, gerontocracy ranks #29 of 12,802 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,173 of 12,802 for Most Satisfying to Say, #5,375 of 12,802 for Funniest Words, #6,949 of 12,802 for Scariest Words.
gerontocracy is pronounced /ˌdʒɛɹənˈtɒkɹəsi/.
Why “gerontocracy” is a great word
A system of governance where political power is concentrated in the hands of the eldest members of a society. Its etymology is From the combining form geronto- (from Ancient Greek γέρων, gerōn, genitive γέροντος, gerontos, "old man") and -cracy (from Ancient Greek -κρατία, -kratía, "rule, power"). First attested in English in the early 19th century, borrowed from French gérontocratie. Unlike plutocracy, where authority derives from wealth, or meritocracy, where it is ostensibly earned by talent, gerontocracy is the dominion of chronology itself. It is the slow, deliberative nod in a sun-drenched council chamber, the policy shaped by memory rather than prophecy, and the weight of tradition that settles like dust upon the ambitions of the new—a polity that venerates the map long after the territory has changed.
Etymology
From geronto- + -cracy, from Ancient Greek.
noun
- Government by elders; government by elderly rulers.“Near-synonyms: senilocracy, graocracy (archaic)”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- geriarchy 91% match — Rule by the elderly.
- gerontocrat 89% match — A member of a gerontocracy; an aged leader, especially one clinging on to power or ruling only by virtue of age.
- oligocracy 88% match — Rule by a select few people.
- ephebocracy 88% match — Government by young people.
- gerontolatry 87% match — Worship of old people.
- neocracy 86% match — Government by the new or inexperienced.
- chrysocracy 86% match — Rule by the rich; plutocracy.
- noocracy 86% match — Rule by intellect; a government which weds power with intelligence.