Webster's English Dictionary

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despot

des.pot \'des-p*t, -.pa:t\ n [MF despote, fr. Gk despote-s; akin to Skt 
   dampati lord of] the house; both fr. a prehistoric IE compound whose 
   constituents are akin to L domus house and to L potis able - more at 
   TIMBER, POTENT 1a: a Byzantine emperor or prince  1b: a bishop or patriarch 
   of the Eastern Orthodox Church  1c: an Italian hereditary prince or 
   military leader during the Renaissance  2a: a ruler with absolute power and 
   authority : AUTOCRAT  2b: a person exercising power abusively, 
   oppressively, or tyrannously