Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Hegemon
/ˈhɛdʒɪmɒn/noun
A state or person holding dominant power over others.
The Greek roots
ἡγεμών
hēgemṓn
leader, guide
Literally: “the one who goes in front”
Follow a root:ἡγεμών1 word
The story of the word
Philip II of Macedon took the title hēgemṓn of the League of Corinth in 337 BC: commander of the allied Greek forces without being king of any of them. The verb behind it, hēgeisthai, meant both to lead an army and to lead a line of thought, which is why exegesis, leading a meaning out of a text, shares the root. English took hegemony first and back-formed the person later.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English
Same family
hegemonyexegesishegemonic
In a sentence
For forty years the dollar was the unchallenged hegemon of world trade.
No single hegemon emerged from the war; three powers carved up the region instead.