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po·lit·i·cal

(pə-lĭtĭ-kəl)

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or dealing with the structure or affairs of government, politics, or the state: a political system.

2. Relating to, involving, or characteristic of political parties or politicians: a political campaign.

3. Interested or active in politics: I'm not a very political person.

4. Influenced by, based on, or stemming from partisan interests or political ideology: The court should never become a political institution. The attack was a political crime.

5. Based on or motivated by self-serving interests, especially in attempting to gain power or to please people of a higher rank in an organization: political maneuvering within the company.

6. Indicating national or regional boundaries. Used of maps.

po·liti·cal·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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