papyrocracy

English

Etymology

From papyro- (“papyrus, paper”) +‎ -cracy (“rule by”).

Noun

papyrocracy (uncountable)

(uncommon) Synonym of bureaucracy: rule by excessive paperwork or regulation.
- 1848, “Hanging, Past and Present”, in Edinburgh Magazine, number 10, Tate, page 238:
  That Government, however, had a "vow in heaven" against sparing one drop of blood which the tribunals had once devoted to the altars of the Papyrocracy.

References

“papyro-, comb. form”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2022.

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