"Phil Cook" <phi### [at] nospamrocainfreeservecouk> wrote:
> And lo on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:21:34 -0000, Bill Pragnell
> <bil### [at] hotmailcom> did spake, saying:
>
> > Phil Cook wrote:
> >> I was reading a book which mentioned that bureaucracy is the obvious
> >> combination of bureau and -cracy. Now -cracy roughly means 'ruled by'
> >> and bureau is a desk; except that got its name from the *woolen cloth*
> >> used to cover the desks of important people. So the literal translation
> >> of bureaucracy is 'ruled by woolen cloth' or as the book put in 'ruled
> >> by green baize'.

Here is another completely different explanation:

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/-cracy

Hildur

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