Where does “tin-pot dictator” come from?
tin-pot dictator (English) comes from English tin-pot, from English pot, from Middle English pot, from Old French pot, from Vulgar Latin pottum, from Frankish *pott, from Proto-Germanic puttaz, from Proto-Indo-European budn- — a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of...
tin-pot dictator (English): An autocratic ruler with little political...
Definitions
- An autocratic ruler with little political...
Ancestry of “tin-pot dictator”, step by step
tin-pot dictator traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English tin-pot
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tin-pot | Inferior; shoddy; Of a country, regime etc.,... |
| 2 | English | pot | A flat-bottomed vessel used for cooking food;... |
| 3 | Middle English | pot | A pot; a circular receptacle or vessel; The top... |
| 4 | Old French | pot | pot; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | pottum | — |
| 6 | Frankish | *pott | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | puttaz | pot, jar, tub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | budn- | a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of... |
via English dictator
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dictator | A totalitarian leader of a country, nation, or... |
| 2 | Latin | dictātor | an elected chief magistrate |
| 3 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |