Political

How to spell political

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce political

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does political mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the government, public affairs, or the contest for power within a society.

Political in a sentence

• The candidate avoided every political question during the interview.

• Rising fuel prices became a major political issue before the election.

Where does political come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek polites, meaning 'a citizen', which itself grew from polis, the word for a city or city-state such as Athens. From polites came politikos, an adjective meaning 'relating to citizens or the running of the state'. Latin adopted this as politicus, and English picked it up in the late 1500s, adding the familiar English ending -ical to form 'political' in the sense of pertaining to government and public affairs. The same polis root is hiding inside everyday relatives like 'police', 'policy', 'metropolis', and even 'cosmopolitan'. Because the stress falls on the second syllable, the surrounding vowels flatten to a schwa, which is the main reason writers hesitate over the spelling.

How the word is built

• polit- (from Greek polites: citizen, via politikos: of citizens/the state)
• -ical (adjective suffix)