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

And a case could be made that Ohio subsumed many of the elements of the American polity: farmland and industrial cities, college towns and factory towns, sprawling suburbia and a swath of rural southeastern counties in many ways akin to neighboring West Virginia. —Ron Elving, NPR, 23 Mar. 2024

Innovative strategies are needed to penetrate more deeply into vulnerable polities, shaping citizens’ hopes, perceptions, sense of what is possible, and desire to effect change. —Suzanne Nossel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Feb. 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