- timocracy
- 1586, from M.Fr. tymocracie, from M.L. timocratia (13c.), from Gk. timokratia, from time "honor, worth" (related to tiein "to place a value on, to honor") + -kratia "rule." In Plato's philosophy, a form of government in which ambition for power and glory motivates the rulers (as in Sparta). In Aristotle, a form of government in which political power is in direct proportion to property ownership.