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Democracy vs Mob - What's the difference?

democracy | mob |

As a noun democracy

is (uncountable) rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives (representative democracy).

As an initialism mob is

(nautical) m'an '''o'''ver ' b oard, used eg on the emergency button of a satellite navigator by pushing the button the operator stores the coordinates of a man overboard incident for easy access.

democracy

Noun

(democracies)
  • (uncountable) Rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives (representative democracy).
  • * 1866 , J. Arthur Partridge, On Democracy , Trübner & Co., page 2:
  • And the essential value and power of Democracy' consists in this,—that it combines, as far as possible, power and organization ; THE SPIRIT, MANHOOD, ''is at one with'' THE BODY, ORGANIZATION. [....] ' Democracy is Government by the People.
  • * 1901 , The American Historical Review , American Historical Association, page 260:
  • The period, that is, which marks the transition from absolutism or aristocracy to democracy will mark also the transition from absolutist or autocratic methods of nomination to democratic methods.
  • * 1921 , James Bryce Bryce, Modern Democracies , The Macmillan Company, page 1:
  • A century ago there was in the Old World only one tiny spot in which the working of democracy could be studied. A few of the ancient rural cantons of Switzerland had recovered their freedom after the fall of Napoleon, and were governing themselves as they had done from the earlier Middle Ages[...]. Nowhere else in Europe did the people rule.
  • * 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, p. 24:
  • Everyone who wanted to speak did so. It was democracy in its purest form.
  • (countable, government) A government under the direct or representative rule of the people of its jurisdiction.
  • * 2003 , Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad , W. W. Norton & Company, page 13:
  • In 1900 not a single country had what we would today consider a democracy : a government created by elections in which every adult citizen could vote.
  • (uncountable) Belief in political freedom and equality; the "spirit of democracy".
  • * 1918 , Charles Horton Cooley, “A Primary Culture for Democracy”, in Publications of the American Sociological Society 13 , p8
  • As states of the human spirit democracy , righteousness, and faith have much in common and may be cultivated by the same means...
  • * 1919 , Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, The Spirit of Russia: Studies in History, Literature and Philosophy , Macmillan, p446
  • It must further be admitted that he provided a successful interpretation of democracy' in its philosophic aspects when he conceived '''democracy''' as a general outlook on the universe... In Bakunin's conception of ' democracy as religious in character we trace the influence of French socialism.
  • * 1996 , Petre Roman, The Spirit of Democracy and the Fabric of NATO - The New European Democracies and NATO Enlargement , p1
  • The spirit of democracy' means, above all, liberty of choice for human beings... ' democracy , in both its individual and collective forms, is the main engine of the eternal human striving for justice and prosperity.

    Synonyms

    * democratism (spirit of democracy)

    Coordinate terms

    * (a form of government) monarchy, aristocracy, dictatorship

    mob

    English

    Etymology 1

    (etyl), short for mobile, from (etyl) . The video-gaming sense originates from English mobile, used by (Richard Bartle) for objects capable of movement in an early MUD.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An unruly group of people.
  • *(James Madison), Jr. (1751-1836)
  • *:Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob .
  • A commonly used collective noun for animals such as horses or cattle.
  • The Mafia, or a similar group that engages in organized crime (preceded by the ).
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob , he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  • *1986 , (Paul Chadwick), Concrete: Under the Desert Stars , Dark Horse Books
  • *:What if it is a mob killing? They can’t hurt me, but …
  • (lb) A non-player character that exists to be fought or killed to further the progression of the story or game.
  • *2002 , "Wolfie", Re: Whoa - massive changes due in next patch'' (on newsgroup ''alt.games.everquest )
  • *:You can't win with small, balanced groups. You have to zerg the mob with a high number of players.
  • (lb) The lower classes of a community; the rabble.
  • *(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
  • *:A cluster of mob were making themselves merry with their betters.
  • (lb) A cohesive group of people.
  • *2011 March 10, Allan Clarke, W.A. through Noongar eyes
  • *:There’s nothing like local knowledge and after thousands of years living here the Noongar mob understand this land better than anyone, so it makes sense for them to tap into the lucrative tourism industry.
  • Derived terms
    * flash mob * lynch mob * meal mob * mob rule * mob-handed * mobber * mobbish * mobbist * mobbism * moblike * mobmobile * mobocracy * mobster * vote mob
    Synonyms
    * (mafia) mafia, Mafia

    Verb

    (mobb)
  • To crowd around (someone), often with hostility.
  • The fans mobbed a well-dressed couple who resembled their idols.
  • To crowd into or around a place.
  • The shoppers mobbed the store on the first day of the sale.
  • (video games) The act of a player aggroing enemies so they follow them and gather, forming a mob of foes. (rfex)
  • Etymology 2

    Alteration of (mab).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A promiscuous woman; a harlot or wench; a prostitute.
  • A mob cap.
  • (Goldsmith)
    Derived terms
    * mob cap

    Verb

    (mobb)
  • To wrap up in, or cover with, a cowl.
  • Etymology 3

    Abbreviation of mobile phone.

    Abbreviation

    (Abbreviation) (en-abbr)
  • mobile phone
  • Usage notes
    * This is most often used in signwriting to match with with the other three-letter abbreviations and (fax).

    Anagrams

    * *