Tyrant is usually reserved for the man who embodies the degenerate form of kingship. Would it nonetheless help us understand why the ancients thought democracy was so bad, if we were to call its citizens little "tyrants"? If not the meaning, then the emotional association with the word when it is used properly may prevent us from grasping the point, since we reasonably think that a tyrant is worse than a democracy with respect to the immediate effects of his rule.