Dictionary

archon en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɑː(ɹ)kən/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn), a noun use of the present participle of ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”).

Meanings

1. A chief magistrate of ancient Athens.
   • Hated by the archons of Athens for his fearless condemnation of municipal graft, he was hypocritically arraigned on a charge of corrupting Athenian youth. 1980, Burgess, Earthly Powers:
2. A person who claims the right to rule, or to exercise power or sovereign authority over other human beings.
3. A ruler, head of state or other leader.
   • But neither the midwife’s lore nor the caudlectures saved him from the archons of Sinn Fein and their noggin of hemlock. 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:
4. A supernatural ruler of the cosmos.
   • Their claim to totality is like the cry of the archon Ialdabaoth that he was the Lord of the Universe and that there was nothing beyond him. 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 83:

Forms

Deriveds

archonship

Relateds

archaism · -archy · archaic · archive · archeo- · archaeo-

Translations (23)

pl archont (chief magistrate) · eo arkonto (chief magistrate) · ca arcont (chief magistrate) · de Archon (chief magistrate) · cmn 執政官 /执政官 (chief magistrate) · es arconte (chief magistrate) · it arconte (chief magistrate) · lt archontas (chief magistrate) · ru архо́нт (chief magistrate) · el άρχοντας (chief magistrate) · eo arĥonto (chief magistrate) · no arkont (chief magistrate) · el αρχόντισσα (chief magistrate) · bg архонт (chief magistrate) · fa ارخون (chief magistrate) · cop ⲁⲣⲭⲱⲛ (chief magistrate) · fa ارکنت (chief magistrate) · fi arkontti (chief magistrate) · pt arconte (chief magistrate) · fr archonte (chief magistrate) · de Archont (chief magistrate) · grc ἄρχων (chief magistrate) · ar أَرْخُن (chief magistrate)