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

Whatever the specific parallels, the problem of how to recover from such assaults on the law and the polity remains vexing. —Julia M. Klein, The Atlantic, 11 July 2025

This severed the connection between property and polity, relieving pressure to limit wealth while making the racial barrier explicit. —Time, 7 July 2025

The fact that Americans, white and Black, made these cosmopolitan connections reminds us that, although the American war for independence was in the (recent) past, the American Revolution—the meaning, and quality of the new polity—was very much in flux. —Time, 9 June 2025

Abbas’s successor will have to resolve this dilemma by unifying the fractured Palestinian polity, including incorporating Hamas into formal political structures, such as the PLO. —Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 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

Rhymes for polity

• jollity
• quality
• causality
• equality
• frivolity
• sodality
• inequality