# political animal

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A person driven by political motives.

## Etymology
Calque of Ancient Greek πολιτικὸν ζῷον (politikòn zōîon), originally a concept taken from Aristotle at various places (History of Animals, Politics), though later as character type – possibly inherited in political families – introduced into everyday politics without philosophical background.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/political-animal