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# The BFD Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-bfd-word-of-the-day-715/
- Published: 2022-01-13T17:15:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-11-14T17:59:28.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 01:12

The word for today is…

demagogue (noun):

1 : a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power  
2 : a leader championing the cause of the common people in ancient times

Source : [Merriam -Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demagogue?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : When the ancient Greeks used demagogos (from demos, meaning “people,” and agein, “to lead”) they meant someone good-a leader who used outstanding oratorical skills to further the interests of the common people. Mid-17th-century writers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Dryden-and, later, Jonathan Swift-employed the English word that way. But, at the same time, the word took a negative turn, coming to suggest one who uses powers of persuasion to sway and mislead. “A plausible, insignificant word, in the mouth of an expert demagogue, is a dangerous and a dreadful weapon,” declared Robert South, known for his sermons, in 1716.

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