Tyrant - tyrannous

The noun tyrant and its related adjective tyrannous look the same and share their origin and meaning - but they are pronounced differently.

• The noun 'a tyrant' has a first vowel like that of 'tire', 'line' and 'sign': 'TIRE-ant', IPA: /ˈtaɪ rÉ™nt/.
• In the adjective tyrannous, the first vowel is like that in 'sit', 'fit' and 'bit': 'TIRR-en-es', IPA: /tɪr É™n É™s/. The same is true of other words derived from tyrant:
  • tyrannical, an adjective meaning 'in the manner of a tyrant';
  • tyrannize, a verb meaning 'to behave like a tyrant', and in particular 'to rule harshly over'; and
  • tyranny, an abstract noun meaning 'the rule of a tyrant', 'bullying behaviour typical of a tyrant', or in the most general and least emotional sense, 'the form of government characterised by an autocratic ruler'.
  • tyrranicide, a noun meaning the crime of, or a person committing the crime of, killing a tyrant'. (Some republicans regard this action as no crime. The tyrannicide brief, by Geoffrey Robertson, published in 2005 by Chatto & Windus in London, recounts the trials first of Charles I, in 1649, which led to his execution; and second of the prosecutor, John Cooke in 1660 (after the Restoration) on a charge of high treason, which led in turn to his execution.)

• • Etymological note: The meaning of tyrant can be confusing. It has certainly changed over time. It is a Greek word whose general sense is 'an individual exercising the power of government'. It dates back as far as the
    • 7th century BCE, when (τυραννοι - tyrannoi) were absolute rulers who had usurped power, although by and large for the city-states over which they ruled. This was the 'Age of the Tyrants' in the 7th and 6th centuries BC.
    • So, until the earlier part of the classical period, the word (τυραννοσ turannos) did not have the negative connotations of our word 'tyrant'.
    • Later, with the establishment of democracy in (some of) the Greek cities, the word did begin to acquire negative connotations. Aristotle, e.g., in his classification of types of constitution in Politics III 7 contrasts kingship (basileia), which he defines as the rule of one person in the common interest and is one of the good types of constitution, with 'tyranny' (turannis), which he defines as the rule of one person in his own interest and is one of the bad or 'deviant' types of constitution.
    • From the sixth century BCE, democracy began to appear in the Greek city-states, and tyrant began to acquire negative connotations. Aristotle, for example, in his classification of types of constitution in Politics (III 7) contrasts 'kingship' (basileia), which he defines as the rule of one person in the common interest and is one of the good types of constitution, with 'tyranny' (turannis), which he defines as the rule of one person in his own interest and is one of the bad or 'deviant' types of constitution. So turannis for Aristotle clearly has negative connotations - although his definition of turannis doesn't quite fit our 'tyranny'.