English
bureaucracy
Bureaucracy comes from French bureaucratie, from Ancient Greek κρᾰ́τος ‘might’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kret-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*krét-osreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾰ́τοςkrắtos‘might’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbureaucratie
- Englishearliest quotation 2020bureaucracy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kret-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*krét-osreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾰ́τοςkrắtos‘might’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentbureaucratie
- Englishearliest quotation 2020bureaucracy
Earliest quotation: 2020, Andrew Haines talks to Stefanie Foster, Repurpose rail for the 2020s: “If we can capture anything from this awful situation,…”
Formed from bureau + -cracy
Late Latin burra ‘wool, shaggy cloth’
Old French *bure
Old French burel ‘woolen cloth’
French bureau ‘desk; office’
English bureau
The story
From bureau + -cracy, from French bureaucratie, coined by Jean Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay from bureau (‘office’) + -cratie (‘rule of’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kret-
through Proto-Indo-European *krét-os
Today it means
noun Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kret- / bureaucracy