Where does “tin-pot dictatorship” come from?
tin-pot dictatorship (English) comes from English tin-pot dictator, 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 — a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of...
tin-pot dictatorship (English): A country ruled by a tin-pot dictator; an autocracy, especially one ruled by someone with delusions of grandeur
Definitions
- A country ruled by a tin-pot dictator; an autocracy, especially one ruled by someone with delusions of grandeur
Ancestry of “tin-pot dictatorship”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tin-pot dictator | An autocratic ruler with little political... |
| 2 | English | tin-pot | Inferior; shoddy; Of a country, regime etc.,... |
| 3 | English | pot | A flat-bottomed vessel used for cooking food;... |
| 4 | Middle English | pot | A pot; a circular receptacle or vessel; The top... |
| 5 | Old French | pot | pot; third-person singular present indicative of... |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | pottum | — |
| 7 | Frankish | *pott | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | puttaz | pot, jar, tub |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | budn- | a kind of vessel; type of vessel; a type of... |