a combining form occurring in loanwords from Greek ( aristocracy; democracy ); on this model used, with the meaning "rule," "government," "governing body," to form abstract nouns from stems of other origin: mobocracy; bureaucracy. Cf. -crat .
[ -cracie (now -cratie ) -cratia -kratia, equiv. to krát ( os ) rule, strength, might (akin to HARD) + -ia -Y 3 ]