Other forms: demagogues
A demagogue is a leader who stirs crowds by playing on their fears. A dangerous demagogue, denounced as a demagogue, the demagogue's appeal.
It is always hostile in English, though the Greek simply meant a leader of the people, and the shift happened because Athens watched enough of them to distrust the type. The method is offering somebody to blame.
1noundemagogueA leader who stirs crowds by playing on their fears.
“The demagogue blamed immigrants for every problem and whipped the crowd into fury.”
demagogue is a leader.
Greek demagogos means a leader of the people, from demos, people, plus agogos, a leader.
Ancient Greek
δημαγωγός — popular leader, mob leader
Middle French
démagogue
English, today
demagogue
Built from
From Middle French démagogue, from Ancient Greek δημαγωγός (“popular leader, mob leader”), from δῆμος (“people”) + ἀγωγός (“guide”). by surface analysis, dem- + -agogue.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA