dynasty
noun
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Dynasty Has Greek Roots
Dynasty has had quite the run in English. For over 600 years it’s been used to refer to a ruling family that maintains power generation after generation. At the time dynasty was first used in English, for example, England was in the midst of rule by the Plantagenet dynasty, whose line of succession provided 14 kings, from Henry II to Richard III. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the word developed the figurative sense “a group or family that dominates a particular field for generations.” Nowadays, this sense of dynasty is often applied to sports franchises that have prolonged runs of successful seasons, divine right not required. Technically, any team is capable of becoming this type of dynasty, including not only Kings and Royals, but also Ducks.
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Sports Dynasties
Dynasty has been in use in English for over 600 years, for most of that time referring to a ruling family that maintains power through succession. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the word developed the figurative sense “a group or family that dominates a particular field for generations.” Nowadays, this sense of dynasty is often applied to a sports franchise which has a prolonged run of successful seasons. The sports use appears to have begun in the early 20th century. An article in The Washington Post in 1905 refers to “John T. Brush’s baseball dynasty,” and by 1912 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that “if players were free agents at the end of every two years, baseball dynasties such as those built up by the Cubs, Athletics, Detroits and Giants would not be possible.”
Examples of dynasty in a Sentence
Skyler Trepel, Peoplemag, 10 Aug. 2024
The logic of the domino theory took on particular urgency in the early 1980s, after the collapse of the corrupt and brutal Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua and the coming to power of a Marxist-Leninist government—the Sandinistas, who in turn supported leftist guerrillas in neighboring El Salvador.
—TIME, 9 Aug. 2024
Rise of the Tyson chicken dynasty comes with controversy
The signs that the Tysons have spent lavishly on the area are, in fact, everywhere.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2024
Hong Kong Palace Museum Resembling a Chinese gold ingot, Hong Kong Palace Museum showcases artifacts from China’s imperial palaces, including Ming dynasty ceramics, scroll paintings, and double-headed dragons from the National Palace Museum in Beijing’s Forbidden City.
—Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dynasty 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dynasty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dynasty
Cite this Entry
“Dynasty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dynasty. Accessed 25 Aug. 2024.
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dynasty
noun
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