The word "民主党" (mínzhǔdǎng) is formed by combining three distinct conceptual characters: "民" (mín), meaning "the people" or "populace"; "主" (zhǔ), meaning "to master" or "to be primary", which here conveys the core idea of "sovereignty" or "being in charge"; and "党" (dǎng), meaning "political party" or "faction". Therefore, the term is constructed as a conceptual compound where "民主" (people's sovereignty, i.e., democracy) acts as the defining principle that modifies "党" (party), logically creating the meaning "democratic party", a party whose central tenet is popular sovereignty.