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politic

adj
/ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪk/UK/ˈpɑ.lɪ.tɪk/US/ˈpɒl.ɪ.tɪk/CA/ˈpɔl.ə.tɪk/

Etymology

From Middle French politique, from Latin politicus, from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós), from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”). Cognate with German politisch (“political”). Doublet of politico.

  1. derived from πολιτικός
  2. derived from politicus
  3. borrowed from politique

Definitions

  1. Of or relating to polity, or civil government

    Of or relating to polity, or civil government; political.

    • the body politic
    • [H]e with his people made all but one politic body whereof himself was the head

  2. Relating to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy

    Relating to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy; well-devised; adapted to its end, whether right or wrong.

    • a politic treaty
    • For then this land was famously enrich'd / With politic grave counsel

  3. Sagacious in promoting a policy

    Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; devoted to a scheme or system rather than to a principle; hence, in a good sense, wise; prudent; sagacious

    • I have been politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemy
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. Shrewd, prudent and expedient

      Shrewd, prudent and expedient; showing policy.

      • But as he headed for the front of the line one of his minders whispered that it might be politic to go to the back.
      • But campaigners in Florida accused him of turning a blind eye to the real issues with his "politic" appearance before the commission.
      • What a politician likes to do for fun (or judges it politic to pretend he does) is seen as a clue to their personality, or even their politics.

    2. Discreet and diplomatic.

      • A unanimous exclamation called upon Evelyn himself to speak; and, after a minute's politic pause, he went on to state his plan.
      • Deferential, glad to be of use, / Politic, cautious, and meticulous; […]

    3. Artful, crafty or cunning.

    4. A politician.

      • to speake truly of politikes & Statesmen
      • Swiftly the politic goes; is it dark? he borrows a lantern; / Slowly the statesman and sure, guiding his feet by the stars.
      • And therefore our politic Asclepius may be supposed to have exhibited the power of his art only to persons who... had a definite ailment.

    5. A politics

      A politics; a set of political beliefs.

      • While the stories and lives on the screen are alternately moving and funny, an unspoken question arises: does similar experience always lead to a coherent politic?

    6. Alternative spelling of politick.

      • That why you turned the Kanuyaq Land Trust into the IRS for using donations to politic instead of to buy land?
      • Residents of New York, Illinois and now New Hampshire have watched as their governors waffled, politicked and, in the case of Illinois, possibly broke the law carrying out their duties to appoint a new senator.
      • His brother [Anthony], he politicked him so well, that even his [Jason's] attitude, all the scouts got away from [forgot about] his [bad] attitude because he was a good player.

The neighborhood

Derived

politicese, politicism, politicist, politicker, politicly, politicness, politicspeak, superpolitic, unpolitic

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at politic. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01politic02polity03politically04political05administrative06administration07britain08exclusively09exclusion10policy

A definitional loop anchored at politic. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at politic

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA