Rule or power exercised by cotton growers or merchants; a system where the cotton industry dominates society and politics.
Cotton (from Arabic qutun) + -ocracy (from Greek -kratia meaning 'rule' or 'power'). The -ocracy suffix appears in democracy, autocracy, and oligarchy.
The American South before the Civil War was essentially a 'cottonocracy'—cotton planters controlled the government, economy, and culture so completely that they fought a war to protect their cotton wealth.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.