oligarchy Meaning, Definition & Usage
- 
       noun a political system governed by a few people
        
      
 - one of his cardinal convictions was that Britain was not run as a democracy but as an oligarchy
- the big cities were notoriously in the hands of the oligarchy of local businessmen
 
WordNet
Ol"i*gar"chy noun
Etymology
Gr. few, little + to rule, govern: cf.F.Wordforms
Definitions
- A form of government in which the supreme power is placed in the hands of a few persons; also, those who form the ruling few. - All oligarchies, wherein a few men domineer, do what they list. Burton.