Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Policy
/ˈpɑləsi/noun
A settled course of action adopted by a government, company or person.
The Greek roots
πολιτεία
politeía
citizenship, government
Literally: “the running of a city”
Follow a root:πολιτεία1 word
The story of the word
Two different English words are spelled policy, and both are Greek by separate routes. This one runs from πολιτεία through Latin politia and Old French policie, reaching English in the 14th century as the conduct of public affairs. The other, the insurance policy, comes through Italian polizza from Medieval Latin apodissa, itself the Greek ἀπόδειξις, a proof or demonstration. Plato's Republic is a Πολιτεία.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- late 14th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
policepoliticspolitymetropoliscosmopolitan
In a sentence
The refund policy is printed on the back of the receipt.
Nobody in the room could say when the policy had been agreed.