The changing definition of "Tyranny" over the past 77 years. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary - 5th Edition - (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1941) 1. The government or authority of a tyrant; the office, tenure, or system of administration, of an absolute ruler called a tyrant. 2. Hence, arbitrary or despotic exercise of power; despotism. 3. A tyrannical act. 4. Severity; rigor. Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary - 7th Edition - (Merriam-Webster, 1971) 1. (a) a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; esp: one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state (b) the office, authority, and administration...