Politics
The word comes from the same Greek word from which the title of Aristotle's book "Politics" (Πολιτικά, "Polis") also derives; "polis" means "affairs of the cities". The book title was rendered in Early Modern English in the mid-15th century as "Polettiques"; it became "politics" in Modern English. The singular "politic" first attested in English 1430 and comes from Middle French "politique", in turn from Latin "politicus", which is the Latinization of the Greek πολιτικός ("politikos"), meaning amongst others "of, for, or relating to citizens", "civil", "civic", "belonging to the state", in turn from πολίτης ("polites"), "citizen" and that from πόλις ("polis"), "city".
Player (political)
A political player is a participant in politics who has or is perceived to have influence or power, although usually on a smaller level than a global power elite. The phrase may refer to an individual who is a candidate or elected or appointed official, but more commonly refers to someone who is not in office but still wields power or influence, such as a lobbyist, a fundraiser or contributor, a whistleblower, a political consultant, a labor union or labor leader, a corporation, or even an entire industry. More recently, with the rise of the Internet, web-based groups such as Moveon.org and online organizations, like ActBlue, have become political players as well.