From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.
Meanings
(uncommon) Tyrannical, tyrannous; like, characteristic of, or in the manner of a tyrant.
...a reconciliation between our no longer parent state, but tyrant state, and these colonies. 1775, Abigail Adams, letter in Familiar Letters of John Adams and his wife Abigail Adams, during the Revolution (1876), 124
He was most tirant & cruell of all emperours. c. 1530, John Rastell, Pastyme of People:
Thus must I from the smoake into the smother,
From tyrant Duke, vnto a tyrant Brother. c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], line 278:
From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.
Meanings
(historical, qualifier:Ancient Greece) A usurper; one who gains power and rules extralegally, distinguished from kings elevated by election or succession.
To proue him Tyrant, this reason may suffice, That Henry liueth still. c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], line 71:
The reappearance of tyranny [in the 4th century BC] had many reasons... one of the main causes was the development of antagonism between rich and poor; tyrants came to power exploiting a social and political imbalance within the state. 1980, Michel Austin et al., Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece, section 142:
Ancient Greek tyrannies appeared once more in great numbers with the breakdown of the polis in the period from the fourth to the second centuries [BC]. These later tyrannies tended to rely on a more narrow class base and to use a brutal military rule, and thus writers could use the words tyrant and tyranny, with their modern connotations of evil and cruelty, to describe them accurately. 1996, Roger Boesche, Theories of Tyranny, from Plato to Arendt, section 4:
(obsolete) Any monarch or governor.
Cassius... set tyrants over all Syria. 1737, William Whiston translating Josephus, History of the Jewish Wars, I xii §2
A despot; a ruler who governs unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
Tyrannes...be but Gods scourges which he will cast into the fyre when he hath done with them. 1587, Philip Sidney and Arthur Golding, A woorke concerning the trewnesse of the christian religion, translating Philippe De Mornay, XII 196
I am the Sonne of Marcus Cato, hoe.
A Foe to Tyrants, and my Countries Friend. 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], line 5:
They [viz., the Framers of the American Constitution] held England to be the freest and best-governed country in the world, but were resolved to avoid the weak points which had enabled King George III. to play the tyrant, and which rendered English liberty, as they thought, far inferior to that which the constitutions of their own States secured. 1888, James Bryce, The American Commonweath, I iv 42:
Here is a Proclamation for a Prince: that proclaims him in whoſe name it is emitted [James II of England], to be the greateſt Tyrant that ever lived in the world, and their Revolt who have diſowned him to be the juſteſt that ever was. 1744, Alexander Shiels [i.e., Alexander Shields], “Period VI. Containing the Testimony through the Continued Tract of the Present Deformation, from the Year 1660 to this Day.”, in A Hind Let Loose: Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ; with the True State thereof in All Its Periods: …, Edinburgh: Reprinted by R. Drummond and Company, and sold by William Gray bookbinder in the Grassmarket, and several others, &c., →OCLC, pages 167–168:
(broadly) Any person who abuses the power of position or office to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
A plague vpon the Tyrant that I serue 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], line 161:
[…] a sad tyrant, as my friends the Democrats sometimes are. 1817, Mary Mitford in Alfred L'Estrange, The life of Mary Russell Mitford (1870), II i 2
(broadly) A villain; a person or thing who uses strength or violence to treat others unjustly, cruelly, or harshly.
I was a blasphemar, and a persecuter, and a tyraunt. 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, :[13]:
A pike (called the tyranne of fishes). 1528, Thomas Paynell translating Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano, Regimen Sanitatis Salerni
Public opinion, the greatest tyrant of these times. 1847, A. Helps, Friends in Council, I viii 132:
O dissembling Curtesie! How fine this Tyrant Can tickle where she wounds? 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], line 85:
The tyrant birds, members of the family Tyrannidae, which often fight or drive off other birds which approach their nests.
Tyrant or Tyrant-bird, Catesby applied it solely to...the King-bird..., but apparently as much in reference to its bright crown...as to its tyrannical behaviour to other birds. 1895, Alfred Newton, A Dictionary of Birds:
The Tyrant... The courage of this little Bird is singular. 1731, Mark Catesby, The natural history of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, I 55:
The lesser tyrants (Tyrannulae) are spread over the whole of America, where they represent the true flycatcher... The tyrants are bold and quarrelsome birds, particularly during the season of incubation. c. 1841, Swainson, Penny Cyclopaedia, XXI 415 2
es tirano (person who abuses their power) · hi अधिनायक (harsh and cruel ruler) · fa دشخدای (harsh and cruel ruler) · ga aintiarna (harsh and cruel ruler) · cs tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · es tirana (harsh and cruel ruler) · ca dèspota (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · ca tirana (harsh and cruel ruler) · sv best (person who abuses their power) · frm tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · it tiranno (person who abuses their power) · pl autokrata (person who abuses their power) · gv tranlaasagh (harsh and cruel ruler) · mk ти́ран (harsh and cruel ruler) · ru тира́н (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · br tirant (harsh and cruel ruler) · fr tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · fa ساستا (harsh and cruel ruler) · ga anlaith (harsh and cruel ruler) · hu elnyomó (harsh and cruel ruler) · pt tirano (person who abuses their power) · gv çhenjagh (harsh and cruel ruler) · fi tyranni (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · vo jitirenan (harsh and cruel ruler) · ru тира́н (person who abuses their power) · bg тира́н (harsh and cruel ruler) · de Tyrann (harsh and cruel ruler) · eo virtirano (person who abuses their power) · fro tirant (harsh and cruel ruler) · fi tyranni (person who abuses their power) · cmn 暴君 (harsh and cruel ruler) · sv tyrann (harsh and cruel ruler) · it tiranno (harsh and cruel ruler) · da tyran (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · kw turantes (harsh and cruel ruler) · it tiranna (harsh and cruel ruler) · da tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · ru тиранка (harsh and cruel ruler) · vo jitirenan (person who abuses their power) · ro tiran (harsh and cruel ruler) · yue 暴主 (harsh and cruel ruler) · ko 폭군 (harsh and cruel ruler) · gv treanyder (harsh and cruel ruler) · ka ტირანი (person who abuses their power) · fi tyranni (harsh and cruel ruler) · de Tyrann (person who abuses their power) · hu despota (harsh and cruel ruler) · gd aintighearna (harsh and cruel ruler) · vo tirenan (person who abuses their power) · io tirano (person who abuses their power) · kw turant (harsh and cruel ruler) · gv treanagh (harsh and cruel ruler) · nb tyrann (harsh and cruel ruler) · enm tyraunt (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · enm tyraunt (person who uses violence to treat others unjustly) · tr tiran (harsh and cruel ruler) · io tiranino (person who abuses their power) · hu zsarnok (person who abuses their power) · ar طَاغِيَة (harsh and cruel ruler) · ca tirà (harsh and cruel ruler) · es tirano (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · hu kényúr (harsh and cruel ruler) · fi hirmuhallitsija (harsh and cruel ruler) · nl tiran (harsh and cruel ruler) · pl autokratka (person who abuses their power) · ka ტირანი (harsh and cruel ruler) · io tiranulo (person who abuses their power) · vi bạo chúa (harsh and cruel ruler) · nl tiran (person who abuses their power) · eo tiraniĉo (person who abuses their power) · de Tyrannin (person who abuses their power) · ru деспот (harsh and cruel ruler) · eu tirano (harsh and cruel ruler) · fr tyran (person who abuses their power) · nan-hbl 暴君 (harsh and cruel ruler) · pt tirana (harsh and cruel ruler) · ga tíoránach (harsh and cruel ruler) · ga ansmachtaí (harsh and cruel ruler) · ka ტირანი (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · eo tiranino (person who abuses their power) · ca tirà (person who abuses their power) · vo hitirenan (harsh and cruel ruler) · hy բռնապետ (harsh and cruel ruler) · enm tyraunt (person who abuses their power) · cmn 暴主 (harsh and cruel ruler) · ru тира́н (harsh and cruel ruler) · fi tyranni (person who uses violence to treat others unjustly) · eo tirano (person who abuses their power) · eo tirano (harsh and cruel ruler) · enm tyraunt (harsh and cruel ruler) · de Tyrannin (harsh and cruel ruler) · es tirano (person who uses violence to treat others unjustly) · pt tirano (harsh and cruel ruler) · vo tirenan (harsh and cruel ruler) · ro tirană (harsh and cruel ruler) · yue 暴君 (harsh and cruel ruler) · fi hallitsija (any monarch or governor) · es tirano (harsh and cruel ruler) · cmn 桀紂 /桀纣 (harsh and cruel ruler) · ru тира́н (person who uses violence to treat others unjustly) · cs tyran (historical / Ancient Greece: usurper) · sv tyrann (person who abuses their power) · la tyrannus (harsh and cruel ruler) · nrf tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · vo hitirenan (person who abuses their power) · nrf tyran (person who abuses their power) · nn tyrann (harsh and cruel ruler) · ca tirà (person who uses violence to treat others unjustly) · hy բռնակալ (harsh and cruel ruler) · la tyrannus (person who abuses their power) · ae 𐬯𐬁𐬯𐬙𐬀 (harsh and cruel ruler) · pl tyran (person who abuses their power) · pl tyran (harsh and cruel ruler) · enm tyraunt (any monarch or governor) · el τύραννος (harsh and cruel ruler) · hu zsarnok (harsh and cruel ruler) · ga ansmachtaí (person who abuses their power) · el τύραννος (person who abuses their power) · grc τῠ́ρᾰννος (harsh and cruel ruler) · ja 暴君 (harsh and cruel ruler) · ko 참주 (harsh and cruel ruler)
From Middle English tyraunt, tiraunt, tyrant, tyrante, from Old French tyrant, from the addition of a terminal -t to tiran (cp. French tyran) via a back-formation related to the development of French present participles out of the Latin -ans form, from Latin tyrannus (“despot”), from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “usurper, monarch, despot”), of uncertain origin.
Meanings
(intransitive, obsolete) To act like a tyrant; to be tyrannical.
Let thy judgment be king, but not tyrant over it a. 1661, Thomas Fuller, Of Fancy: