polity

noun

pol·​i·​ty ˈpä-lə-tē 

plural polities

1

: political organization

2

: a specific form of political organization

3

: a politically organized unit

4

a

: the form or constitution of a politically organized unit

b

: the form of government of a religious denomination

Examples of polity in a Sentence

the polities of medieval Italy

Recent Examples on the Web

In this view, Kim was not only custodian of the American polity but its inheritor, alongside the nation’s Asian, Latino, and black populace—what the white revanchists yearning for, say, the 80 percent white America of 1980, might refer to as a Great Replacement. —Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024

More cynically, these books are celebrity autobiographies for a polity that has seen healthier days. —Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024

These are all elements of a successful polity: respect for property rights, self-reliance, and a commitment to act as a good neighbor. —Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024

Decades of neutrality pushed them to develop plans to mobilize in wartime and to build resilient economies and polities, whereas most of their neighbors relied on NATO membership to cover their security concerns. —Phillips P. O’Brien, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from Late Latin polītīa "citizenship, political organization, constitution of a state, administrative direction," with ending conformed to -ity — more at police entry 1

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1