Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A governor of a province in ancient Persia.
  • noun A ruler.
  • noun A subordinate bureaucrat or official.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy; hence, a viceroy or petty prince acting under an autocratic superior; figuratively, a despotic official under a tyrant.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The governor of a province in ancient Persia; hence, a petty autocrat despot.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A governor of a Persian province.
  • noun A petty ruler.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a governor of a province in ancient Persia

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English satrape, from Old French, from Latin satrapēs, from Greek, from Old Persian khshathrapāvā, protector of the province : khshathra-, realm, province + pāvā, protector; see pā- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English satrape, from Latin satrapēs, from Ancient Greek σατράπης (satrápēs), from Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 (xšaçapāvā, "protector of the province"), from 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶 (xšaça-, "realm, province") and *pāvā ("protector"), from verbal root √pā ("to protect").

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Examples

  • Chosroes, or the artifice of Heraclius, soon alienated the mind of that powerful satrap from the service of his king and country.

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • If Bessus killed Darius and took the throne, that would drag out the fight, especially as the satrap was a skilled warrior and general who had the loyalty of the Bactrians and other eastern provinces.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • If Bessus killed Darius and took the throne, that would drag out the fight, especially as the satrap was a skilled warrior and general who had the loyalty of the Bactrians and other eastern provinces.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • If Bessus killed Darius and took the throne, that would drag out the fight, especially as the satrap was a skilled warrior and general who had the loyalty of the Bactrians and other eastern provinces.

    Alexander the Great Philip Freeman 2011

  • Krüger thinks, of Eastern Armenia; Tiribazus being called satrap of

    The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis 431 BC-350? BC Xenophon 1844

  • Massingberd, &c. As to umbrellas, there are Oriental scholars who can inform your inquirers that the word "satrap" is traceable to words whose purport is, the bearer of an umbrella.

    Notes and Queries, Number 37, July 13, 1850 Various

  • [10] A "satrap" was originally a governor of a province in ancient

    From Pole to Pole A Book for Young People Sven Anders Hedin 1908

  • A Saka satrap Bhumaka established Scythian power on the northwest coast (c.

    b. The Deccan 2001

  • (sunny), the scribe or secretary of Kehum, who was a kind of satrap of the conquered province of Judea and of the colony of

    Smith's Bible Dictionary 1884

  • "satrap," "palladium," and "Argus-eyed" in the proof, with little relevancy as to position or place, and no perceptible effect as to argument.

    The Story of a Mine Bret Harte 1869

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