Oligopoly

Derived, by analogy with monopoly, from Ancient Greek á½€Î»Î¯Î³Î¿Î¹ (oligoi, "few") + Ï€Ï‰Î»ÎÏ‰ (pÅleÅ, "to sell").

From - + poly + -

Full definition of oligopoly

(plural oligopolies)

An economic condition in which a small number of sellers exert control over the market of a commodity.

1866, Frederic Seebohm, The Fortnightly Review Chapter More drawn into Court. His Introduction to the "Utopia" (1516)., For tho sheep are falling into few and powerful hands; and these, if they have not a monopoly, have at least an oligopoly, and can keep up the price.
1895, w, w:Utopia (book) Chapter The Fyrste Boke, 2 We have ' monopoly,' but not ' oligopoly ' (the sale by a few), and so cannot preserve the point of the sentence.
1907, G. Macloskie, The Princeton Theological Review Chapter General Literature, The specialist offices have it all to themselves; not a 'monopoly', but an 'oligopoly', if we may coin the term.
2006, w, Internal Combustion Chapter 2, But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries. By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal. This only magnified the indispensable nature of the oligopolists.