Crossword clues for politic
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Politic \Pol"i*tic\, a. [L. politicus political, Gr. ? belonging to the citizens or to the state, fr.? citizen: cf. F. politique. See Police, and cf. ePolitical.]
-
Of or pertaining to polity, or civil government; political; as, the body politic. See under Body.
He with his people made all but one politic body.
--Sir P. Sidney. Pertaining to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy; well-devised; adapted to its end, whether right or wrong; -- said of things; as, a politic treaty. ``Enrich'd with politic grave counsel.''
--Shak.-
Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; devoted to a scheme or system rather than to a principle; hence, in a good sense, wise; prudent; sagacious; and in a bad sense, artful; unscrupulous; cunning; -- said of persons.
Politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemy.
--Shak.Syn: Wise; prudent; sagacious; discreet; provident; wary; artful; cunning.
Politic \Pol`i*tic\, n.
A politician. [Archaic]
--Bacon.
Swiftly the politic goes; is it dark? he borrows a
lantern;
Slowly the statesman and sure, guiding his feet by the
stars.
--Lowell.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
early 15c., "pertaining to public affairs," from Middle French politique "political" (14c.) and directly from Latin politicus "of citizens or the state, civil, civic," from Greek politikos "of citizens, pertaining to the state and its administration; pertaining to public life," from polites "citizen," from polis "city" (see polis). Replaced in most adjectival senses by political. From mid-15c. as "prudent, judicious."
also politick, "to engage in political activity," 1917, a back-formation from politics. Related: Politicked; politicking (for the -k- see picnic).
Wiktionary
a. 1 (context archaic English) Of or relating to polity, or civil government; political. 2 (context archaic English) Relating to, or promoting, a policy, especially a national policy; well-devised; adapted to its end, whether right or wrong; said of things. 3 (context archaic English) Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; devoted to a scheme or system rather than to a principle; hence, in a good sense, wise; prudent; sagacious 4 shrewd#English, prudent and expedient. 5 discreet#English and diplomatic. 6 artful#English, crafty or cunning. n. (context archaic English) A politician.
WordNet
adj. marked by artful prudence, expedience, and shrewdness; "it is neither polite nor politic to get into other people's quarrels"; "a politic decision"; "a politic manager"; "a politic old scoundrel"; "a shrewd and politic reply" [ant: impolitic]
smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication; "he was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage"; "the hostess averted a confrontation between two guests with a diplomatic change of subject"; "the manager pacified the customer with a smooth apology for the error"; "affable, suave, moderate men...smugly convinced of their respectability" - Ezra Pound [syn: smooth, suave]
Wikipedia
Usage examples of "politic".
They stay at a constant level of human accomplishment, and they stay out of politics.
Upon this ugly race antagonism it is not necessary to enlarge here in discussing the problem of education, and I will leave it with the single observation that I have heard intelligent negroes, who were honestly at work, accumulating property and disposed to postpone active politics to a more convenient season, say that they had nothing to fear from the intelligent white population, but only from the envy of the ignorant.
Frequent allusion is made to the excitement at present existing in our national politics, and it is as well that I should also allude to it here.
Campaign Bloat is at the root of this hellish angst that boils up to obscure my vision every time I try to write anything serious about presidential politics.
He was so antipathetic toward the way politics ran on this island that he carried a large-calibre automatic pistol holstered under his armpit.
Pauling, many scientists consider their job to be science, narrowly defined, and believe that engaging in politics or social criticism is not just a distraction from but antithetical to the scientific life.
Maintaining the literary aporia for Kundera seems to entail flirting with antifeminist politics, if not playing into the hands of conservative politics in general.
Cohn, Roy, 156 Cold war, 46-47, 67-68, 102, 107-8, 139, 170: see also Soviet Union Colson, Charles, 208 Columbia University, 8, 10, 32, 33, 42, 45-49, 50, 52, 55, 97, 99, 100, 127, 139-40, 148, 160-61, 221 Columbus, Christopher, 142-43 Commentary, 79-80, 88, 118-19, 120, 127, 136, 141-46, 151, 160, 162-63, 164, 169-70, 172, 175, 176, 181-82, 194-95, 205, 222, 231 Communism, 73-78, 82-89, 142, 144, 168, 224: see also Marxism Americanization of, 76 anti-, 101-6 in mainstream politics, 180-81 Roosevelt and, 73-74 utopianism and, 178 Vietnam and, 172, 173, 174 WW II and, 83-89, 90, 92 Congress for Cultural Freedom, 104 Constitution, U.
We know, however, his posterity and what kind of politics were to claim the authorization of the man who claimed to be the last antipolitical German.
Gemma knew Michael: He was in no mood for bickering, backbiting, or inter-Dante politics.
Hasdrubal sent a swift ship flying along the shore of the Mediterranean to where Hamilcar, the last scion of the Barcas, a family long since fallen from power and politics, lay with a war fleet of fifty-seven great ships off Hippo on the north African coast.
It is no disgrace, no more than for your adventurous reveller to fall by some inauspicious chance in his galliard, or for some subtile politic to undertake the bastinado, that the state might think worthily of him, and respect him as a man well beaten to the world.
And for a beautician, he did have a surprising grasp of world politics.
It was inconvenient, unjust, and degrading to the character of the house, it was asserted, to descend into the politics of borough elections, and that applications like this ought to be resisted.
On the other hand, his more practised colleagues heard the detail of the Bravo with politic coolness.