sovereign
UK /ˈsɒv.ɹɪn/ · US /ˈsɑv(ə)ɹɪn/ adjective, noun, verb, proper noun
Forms sovereigns sovereigning sovereigned soveraign soveraigne sovran sovring sovrin
- adjective Exercising power of rule. “sovereign nation”
- adjective Having supreme, ultimate power; (often specifically, of a polity) having fully independent power in international relations. “sovereign country”
- adjective Exceptional in quality. “Her voice was her sovereign talent.”
- adjective (now rare, pharmacology) Extremely potent or effective (of a medicine, remedy etc.).
- adjective Princely; royal.
- adjective Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.
- noun A monarch: a supreme ruler of a country in a monarchical system.
- noun One who is not a subject to a ruler or nation.
- noun A gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal value of one pound sterling but in practice used as a bullion coin.
- noun A former Australian gold coin, minted from 1855–1931, of one pound value.
- noun A very large champagne bottle with the capacity of about 25 liters, equivalent to 33+¹⁄₃ standard bottles.
- noun Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalini, or genus Basilarchia, eg., ursula, viceroy.
- noun (UK, slang) A large, garish ring; a sovereign ring.
- verb (transitive) To rule over as a sovereign.
- noun The title of a monarch.
- noun God, the supreme being who has power over all creation.
- proper noun A surname from German.
Synonyms
supreme monarch crowned head autonomous independent self-governing
Etymology
From Middle English sovereyn, from Old French soverain (whence also modern French souverain), from Vulgar Latin *superānus (compare Italian sovrano, Spanish soberano) from Latin super (“above”). Spelling influenced by folk-etymology association with reign. Doublet of soprano, from the same Latin root via Italian. Doublet of souverain. See also suzerain, foreign.
Americanized form of an unidentified German surname.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Supreme or highest in power; superior to all others; chief; as, our sovereign prince.
- adjective Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion.
- noun The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor.
- noun A gold coin of Great Britain, on which an effigy of the head of the reigning king or queen is stamped, valued at one pound sterling, or about $4.86.
Etymology [OE. soverain, sovereyn, OF. soverain, suvrain, F. souverain, LL. superanus, fr. L. superus that is above, upper, higher, fr. super above. See Over, Super, and cf. Soprano. The modern spelling is due to a supposed connection with reign.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “sovereign”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details