DESPOT

This word, in its original an(} most simple acceptation, signifies master anti supreme lord; it is synonymous with monarch; but taken In bad part, as It is usually employed, it signifies a 'tyrant. In some state&, despot ls the title given to the sovereign, as king ls given in others. Enc. Lond. -Despotism. That abuse of government where tbe sovereign power is not divide,;!, but united in the hands of a single man, whatever E may be his official title. It is not, properly, a form of government. Toullier, Dr. Civ. Fr. tit. pri\l. n. 32. "Despotism" is not exactly synonymous with "autocracy," for the former involves the idea of tyranny or abuse of power, which is not nece arily implied by the latter. Every despotism is autocratic; but an autocracy is f not nece arily despotic.-Despotize. To act as a despot. Webster. [s. 367]