hegemony
English
WOTD – 17 February 2007
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἡγεμονία (hēgemonía, “supremacy or leadership, chief command”), from ἡγεμών (hēgemṓn, “a leader, guide, commander, chief”), from ἡγέομαι (hēgéomai, “to lead”). Early 19th-century usage influenced by German Hegemonie.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /hɪˈɡɛm.ə.ni/, /hɪˈd͡ʒɛm.ə.ni/
- (US) IPA(key): /hɪˈd͡ʒɛm.ə.ni/, /ˈhɛd͡ʒ.ə.moʊ.ni/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
hegemony (countable and uncountable, plural hegemonies)
- (formal) Domination, influence, or authority over another, especially by one political group over a society or by one nation over others.
- 1820 [1819], Anonymous, transl., “Germany and the Revolution”, in The Pamphleteer, volume xxv, number 30, London, translation of Teutschland und die Revolution by J[oseph] Görres, page 572:
- The idea of a German republic and confederacy like the American, is surely less fantastical than a hegemony to which nobody is willing to submit.
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- Dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group or hegemon acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force.
- The two political parties battled viciously for hegemony.
Derived terms
- hegemonism
- hegemonist
- hegemonize
Related terms
- hegemon
- hegemonic
Translations
domination, influence, or authority over another
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Further reading
- hegemony in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- hegemony in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- "hegemony" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 144.