nepotism

nepotism

ne pə tih zəm

noun

favoritism shown to a near relative, as in preferential hiring or patronage.
example: The governor was accused of nepotism after he hired his mother to fill a top position.

Word Origin

The word “nepotism” has its origins in the Latin word for “nephew.” Why are nephews at the root of this word and not sons? The word was first used in English in the fourteenth century to refer to preferential hiring by the Pope, whose closest descendants as a celibate representative of the Catholic Church would be his brothers’ sons, his nephews.