Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy ({not transcribed}) , noun

[Bureau + Greek {not transcribed} to be strong, to govern, {not transcribed} strength: compare French bureaucratie.]

1.
A system of carrying on the business of government by means of departments or bureaus, each under the control of a chief, in contradiction to a system in which the officers of government have an associated authority and responsibility; also, government conducted on this system.
2.
Government officials, collectively; -- used especially of nonelected government officials.