Page 1 of 1

SATRAPY

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:43 pm
by Slava
The Good Word from 8/12/06 and 10/28/11, neither of which made it to the Agora. I was looking for satrap, found this in the site's dictionary, but, lo!, it is missing from the Agora list; we hop from satiety to saturnine.
• satrapy •

Pronunciation: say-trê-pee, -trê-pee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A province ruled by a Persian warlord or governor (satrap). 2. A minor self-contained country or province, probably ruled by a possessive governor with a taste for luxury, but controlled by a larger power.

Notes: Surprisingly, this rather provincial word has developed quite a few derivations, though it is difficult to determine if all are used seriously. Satrapal, satrapian, and satrapical have been offered as adjectives for satrap, the ruler of a satrapy. Satrapial has been used as an adjective for today's word. Use them all with caution.

In Play: Today's word works best in speaking of the Middle East: "Each of the warlords of Afghanistan controls his own satrapy over which the central government has little control." However, it has long been used metaphorically in sentences such as, "Joe Bologna has his own little satrapy in accounting and he can't be budged because no one else understands his bookkeeping methods."

Word History: Today's Good Word is an extension of Old French satrape "satrap", a word inherited from Latin satrapes, a transliteration of the identical word in Greek. Greek had greatly reduced the Old Persian khshathrapava "protector of the realm", a compound noun made up of khshathra- "province, realm" + pava "protector" from pa- "protect". This pa- shares an origin with the first syllable of a recent Good Word, bezoar (see the Word History there). It originally meant "nurture, protect", and took the first meaning into such native English words as food, fodder, foster. We also see it in words borrowed from Latin like pasture, pastor and company, which is based on con "together with" + panis "bread". (We enjoy the company of Monika Pohle, especially when she suggests a wonderful word like today's.)

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:10 pm
by Perry Lassiter
My undstanding is that Cyrus reorganized the satrapy system, installing both a governor and a general in each one. The catch was they both reported directly to him. That made it very difficult for insurrections to start, much less flourish. That gave him enough confidence to launch the Edict of Cyrus in 539 BCE that allowed the refugees from Judah to return from their diaspora.

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:18 am
by Perry Lassiter
I found this quote in the online Atlantic last night in a story about the consequences of the whistleblowers:

"Given what we now know about how the US and its satraps have been abusing their privileged position in the global infrastructure...".

The word is indeed in current use!

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:02 pm
by LukeJavan8
My undstanding is that Cyrus reorganized the satrapy system, installing both a governor and a general in each one. The catch was they both reported directly to him. That made it very difficult for insurrections to start, much less flourish. That gave him enough confidence to launch the Edict of Cyrus in 539 BCE that allowed the refugees from Judah to return from their diaspora.

I've heard this as well, it was an ancient concept of 'checks and
balances', and most interesting considering the time period.

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:41 pm
by Slava
I found this quote in the online Atlantic last night in a story about the consequences of the whistleblowers:

"Given what we now know about how the US and its satraps have been abusing their privileged position in the global infrastructure...".

The word is indeed in current use!
Quite a coincidence. That's the line that made me look it up here, to see if it had been done.

I was also thinking of other places in the modern world it could be used: the USSR and Eastern Europe; current Russia, where many of its provinces are ruled as satrapies; several countries where the leaders live lives of unconscionable excess while the people struggle with poverty, etc.

But I'll stop there, before I get going on politics.

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:48 pm
by LukeJavan8
But the word invites politics, at least on a level not
involving the practice of it. I am thinking of
Zimbabwe and another election it is having with Mugabe
who is 89 running again, and the inflation rate is
unconscionable.

Re: SATRAPY

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 11:37 pm
by misterdoe
Meaning: 1. A province ruled by a Persian warlord or governor (satrap).
Not only Persian; in more than a few cases, when Alexander the Great's forces overran a Persian-ruled area, the sitting satrap was left in place. In fact, I've read that some historians call Alexander "the last Persian emperor" due to his leaving satraps in place, the grand state funeral he gave for Darius, and his unmet goal to make Babylon his capital.