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bureaucratie

bureaucracy

noun bü-ro-krah-SEE Rare
People & Society Government

Origin: from French bureau (desk/office) + Greek -kratie (rule), coined in 18th-century France

Also means

red tape

Usage Note

Bureaucratie was coined in French and then exported to most European languages. It can describe either a system of government administration or, pejoratively, excessive administrative complexity. The derived adjective bureaucratique and the agent noun bureaucrate are both common; the expression noyé dans la bureaucratie (drowned in red tape) captures the frustration the word often conveys.

Examples

"La bureaucratie ralentit les demandes de visa."

Natural Translation

Bureaucracy slows down visa applications.

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