From the ever-impressive Oxford English Dictionary:
kakistocracy – The government of a state by the worst citizens.
The OED cites the first known use of the word kakistocracy back in 1644:
“mad kinde of Kakistocracy”
And in 1876:
“Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a Kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?”
And in 1879:
“The..régime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy.”
In preparing for a course on Gustav Holst I will be teaching this summer, I recently came across a curious phrase in a letter written by Gustav’s great-uncle Theodore von Holst on October 13, 1832:
“They told us that Costa of the Opera gave a Concert there with Vigano, Tamburini, Donzelli, Grisi and other Trumps, but none of the Brightonian Nobs would patronise it…”
Again turning to the OED, I found the following:
trump – To deceive, cheat
Citations of this transitive verb are given for 1487-1631.
trump – A thing of small value, a trifle
Cited use of this noun is in 1513
trump – To give forth a trumpet-like sound; spec. to break wind audibly (slang or colloquial)
Citations of this intransitive verb are given for c. 1425 – 1845
I wish I could take your Holst course!!!
And, thanks for the OED edification!!!!! I will say we have a well-named president. At least there’s that.
Thanks, Peter! Agreed. Yes, excited about teaching Holst. Though The Planets is justifiably famous, he wrote several other works that deserve a great deal more attention. I have already curated the music for the five-session course (40-57 minutes of music per 90-minute session), and we’ll focus on The Planets in just the middle session.