politic \POL-ih-tik\, adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to polity, or civil government; political (as in the phrase "the body politic").
2. (Of persons): Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; characterized by political skill and ingenuity; hence, shrewdly tactful, cunning.
3. (Of actions or things): Pertaining to or promoting a policy; hence, judicious; expedient; as, "a politic decision."
Plato, in Aristotle's judgment, confused and treated as one the diverse elements that make up the body politic -- household, community (village), and state.
-- Richard Pipes, Property and Freedom
It also occurred to me then that members of the circle around Peres thought that since negotiations with Syria were bound to continue, it would be more politic to present the concessions that would have to be made as having been made by the late Rabin.
-- Itamar Rabinovich, The Brink of Peace
I, on the other hand, loathed Philby . . . but it hardly seems politic to say this to my host.
-- John le Carre, "My New Friends in the New Russia: In Search of A Few Good Crooks, Cops and Former Agents", New York Times, February 19, 1995
It didn't seem too politic to give voice to this thought.
-- Lesley Hazleton, Driving To Detroit
Politic derives from Greek politikos, from polites, "citizen," from polis, "city."
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