des|pot «DEHS puht, -pot», noun.
1. a monarch having unlimited power; absolute ruler: »
In ancient times many rulers were despots.
2. a person who does just as he likes; one who exercises tyrannical power; tyrant or oppressor.
3. a title meaning “master” or “lord,” used in Byzantine times to refer to an emperor, or a ruler of one of certain local Byzantine states.
4. a) a bishop or patriarch in the Greek Church. b) a noble, prince, or military leader in Italian cities in the 1300's and 1400's.
╂[< Middle French despot, learned borrowing from Medieval Greek despótēs absolute ruler, master < Greek, master (of the household)]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.