military-dominated
UK[ˈmɪlɪtəri ˈdɒmɪneɪtɪd]US[ˈmɪləteri ˈdɑːməneɪtɪd]
adj
Controlled or ruled by the armed forces or military authorities.
Morpheme Breakdown
military
dominated
military
armed forces
dominated
controlled
Etymology
The compound adjective 'military-dominated' is a modern formation that transparently combines two distinct Latin-derived elements. The first, 'military', traces back to the Latin miles for 'soldier', evolving to describe anything pertaining to armed forces. The second, 'dominated', originates from dominus, meaning 'master' or 'lord', conveying a sense of absolute authority and control. When fused, the term literally means "mastered by the soldierly class," a concept that became lexically necessary to describe political or social systems where civilian authority is subordinated to martial power. This logical construction directly maps the ancient concepts of soldiering and mastery onto contemporary contexts of governance and influence.
Analysis
Structure: military (armed forces) + dominated (controlled)
- military: From Latin militaris (of a soldier, of war), from miles (soldier). Functions as a noun used attributively to specify the domain of control.
- dominated: From Latin dominatus, past participle of dominari (to rule, govern), from dominus (master, lord). Functions as the primary descriptive element indicating a state of control.
Examples
The country had a long history of military-dominated governments.
Critics argue that the military-dominated industrial complex distorts national priorities.
The transition from a military-dominated regime to a civilian democracy was fraught with challenges.