democracy \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\ a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting - Merriam Webster, first definition democracy (dĭ-mŏkˈrə-sē) Government

democracy \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\ a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting - Merriam Webster, first definition democracy (dĭ-mŏkˈrə-sē) Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives - American Heritage dictionary, first definition With apologies to Plato, the word "democracy" most commonly refers to nearly any political system that involves voting. The only time anyone uses the word democracy to mean "direct democracy," with every citizen voting on every issue, is when they're criticizing someone else for using the word democracy in exactly the way almost everyone does all the time. See my companion rant: Hitler's National Socialism was a form of fascism in the way we use that word today, even though he and Mussolini had distinct political ideas.