1984: despots, dictators, and tyrants May 21, 2020

Changes in words' meaning through history can show how people considered powerful leaders. The original roots for 'despot', 'dictator', and 'tyrant'—δεσπότης (despótēs), dictator, and τύραννος (tyrannos)—were essentially all neutral, like 'king' would be in English. However, each of these gained negative associations, connoting unfairness and cruelty. Each of these is from a different culture or time, Byzantine, Roman, or Ancient Greek respectively, but the same process has been noted for the word 'autocrat' in some ways. It is important to consider also who specifically gave them negative connotations, as at least in the case of 'despot', this was not even a official title and was only used negatively towards the very end of the empire.

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