tyrant

tyrant
   Used historically of someone who seizes sovereign power in a state and becomes an absolute ruler, often enforcing that rule with acts of cruelty.
   The word is used more loosely of anyone who exercises power, and it could once be applied to anyone who acted in a cruel way.
   The term occurs vocatively in several Shakespearean plays. The Winter’s Tale (3:ii) has Paulina saying to King Leontes: ‘What studied torments, tyrant, hast thou for me?/What wheels, racks, fires? what flaying, boiling/In leads or oils?’ Later she says: ‘But, O thou tyrant! Do not repent these things.’ Macbeth (5:vii) has young Siward saying to Macbeth: ‘Thou liest, abhorred tyrant’ A moment later Macduff enters and says: ‘Tyrant, show thy face.’ A figurative use of ‘tyrant’ occurs between lovers. Thus Romeo is for Juliet her ‘beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical’, because he has slain Tybalt. In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, Rochester says to Jane: ‘But listen - whisper - it is your time now, little tyrant, but it will be mine presently.’ In such cases the listener is a tyrant in having total power over the speaker, though willing submission to his or her rule is implied.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
Synonyms:
, , / , / ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Tyrant — Жанр атмосферный блэк метал (ранний), симфонический блэк метал Годы с 1994 Страна …   Википедия

  • Tyrant — Tyr ant (t[imac] rant), n. [OE. tirant, tiraunt, tyraunt, OF. tiran, tirant (probably from confusion with the p. pr. of verbs), F. tyran, L. tyrannus, Gr. ty rannos, originally, an absolute sovereign, but afterwards, a severe or cruel ruler.] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tyrant — c.1300, absolute ruler, from O.Fr. tyrant (12c.), from L. tyrannus lord, master, tyrant (Cf. Sp. tirano, It. tiranno), from Gk. tyrannos lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler, a loan word from a language of Asia Minor (probably Lydian); Cf.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Tyrant — Ty rant, v. i. To act like a tyrant; to play the tyrant; to tyrannical. [Obs.] Fuller. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tyrant — index dictator Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 tyrant n. A single absolute ruler; a …   Law dictionary

  • tyrant — In modern use the word denotes the manner in which authority is exercised, i.e. oppressively and cruelly. In its ancient Greek context, it refers to the manner in which authority was achieved, i.e. by unconstitutional means. Once in power, a… …   Modern English usage

  • tyrant — [n] person who dictates, oppresses absolute ruler, absolutist, authoritarian, autocrat, bully, despot, dictator, Hitler*, inquisitor, martinet, oppressor, slave driver*, Stalin*; concepts 354,412 Ant. democrat …   New thesaurus

  • tyrant — ► NOUN 1) a cruel and oppressive ruler. 2) a person exercising power or control in a cruel and arbitrary way. 3) (especially in ancient Greece) a ruler who seized absolute power without legal right. ORIGIN Greek turannos …   English terms dictionary

  • tyrant — [tī′rənt] n. [ME tirant < OFr tiran, tirant (with t after ending ant of prp.) < L tyrannus < Gr tyrannos] 1. an absolute ruler; specif., in ancient Greece, etc., one who seized sovereignty illegally; usurper 2. a cruel, oppressive ruler; …   English World dictionary

  • Tyrant — In modern usage, a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a state or within an organization. The term carries modern connotations of a harsh and cruel ruler who places his or her own interests or the interests of a small oligarchy… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”