polity

UK: /ˈpɒlɪtɪ/ US: /ˈpɑlɪti/ ,(pol′i tē)

Inflections of 'polity' (n): npl: polities

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pol•i•ty /ˈpɑlɪti/   n. [countable] , pl. -ties. 

1. Government a state or other organized community or body.

See -polis-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pol•i•ty  (pol′i tē), n., pl. -ties. 

1. Government a particular form or system of government:
   civil polity; ecclesiastical polity.
2. Government the condition of being constituted as a state or other organized community or body:
   The polity of ancient Athens became a standard for later governments.
3. Government government or administrative regulation:
   The colonists demanded independence in matters of internal polity.
4. Government a state or other organized community or body.

• Greek polīteía citizenship, government, form of government, commonwealth, equivalent. to polí̄te-, variant stem of polí̄tēs citizen (see polis, -ite¹) + -ia -ia
• Latin polītīa
• 1530–40

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

polity / ˈpɒlɪtɪ/ noun ( -ties)

1. a form of government or organization of a state, church, society, etc; constitution
2. a politically organized society, state, city, etc
3. the management of public or civil affairs
4. political organization

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin polītīa, from Greek politeia citizenship, civil administration, from politēs citizen, from polis city