Hypertext Webster Gateway: "despot"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Despot \Des"pot\, n. [F. despote, LL. despotus, fr. Gr.
despo`ths master, lord, the second part of which is akin to
po`sis husband, and L. potens. See {Potent}.]
1. A master; a lord; especially, an absolute or irresponsible
ruler or sovereign.
Irresponsible power in human hands so naturally
leads to it, that cruelty has become associated with
despot and tyrant. --C. J. Smith.
2. One who rules regardless of a constitution or laws; a
tyrant.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
despot
n : a dictator or dictatorial person [syn: {tyrant}, {autocrat}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.