sovereign - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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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. See also suzerain, foreign.
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɒv.ɹɪn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɑv(ə)ɹɪn/
- Rhymes: -ɒvɹɪn
- Hyphenation: sov‧e‧reign
sovereign (comparative more sovereign, superlative most sovereign)
- Exercising power of rule.
sovereign nation
- Exceptional in quality.
Her voice was her sovereign talent.
- (now rare, pharmacology) Extremely potent or effective (of a medicine, remedy etc.).
1876, John Davies, “[Tobacco.]”, in Alexander B[alloch] Grosart, editor, The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Edited, with Memorial-Introduction and Notes, by the Rev. Alexander B. Grosart. In Two Volumes (Early English Poets), volume II, London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly, →OCLC, page 226:
1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
a sovereign remedy
1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
Such a sovereign influence has this passion upon the regulation of the lives and actions of men.
1900, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 3, page 297:
In Spain people still bathe in the sea or roll naked in the dew of the meadows on St. John’s Eve, believing that this is a sovereign preservative against diseases of the skin.
- Having supreme, ultimate power.
Gentlemen, may I introduce Her Royal Highness, the Sovereign and Most Imperial Majesty, Empress Elizabeth of Vicron.
1972, Brian Potter, Dennis Lambert (lyrics and music), “Keeper of the Castle”, performed by The Four Tops:
You're the keeper of the castle
So be a father to your children
The provider of all their daily needs
Like a sovereign Lord protector
Be their destiny's director
And they'll do well to follow where you lead.
- Princely; royal.
c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
You pity not the state, nor the remembrance of his most sovereign name.
- Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.
exercising power of rule
- Albanian: sovran (sq)
- Arabic: مُسْتَقِلّ (ar) (mustaqill)
- Armenian: ինքնիշխան (hy) (inkʻnišxan)
- Asturian: soberanu (ast)
- Azerbaijani: suveren, müstəqil (az)
- Belarusian: сувэрэ́нны (suverénny)
- Bulgarian: сувере́нен (bg) (suverénen)
- Catalan: sobirà (ca)
- Chinese:
- Czech: svrchovaný (cs), suverénní
- Danish: suveræn
- Dutch: soeverein (nl)
- Esperanto: suverena
- Estonian: suveräänne
- Finnish: itsenäinen (fi), suvereeni (fi), täysivaltainen (fi)
- French: souverain (fr)
- Galician: soberano (gl)
- Georgian: სუვერენული (suverenuli), სრულუფლებიანი (sruluplebiani), დამოუკიდებელი (ka) (damouḳidebeli), სრულძალაუფლებიანი (srulʒalauplebiani)
- German: souverän (de)
- Greek: κυρίαρχος (el) (kyríarchos), ηγεμονικός (el) (igemonikós)
- Ancient: ἀρχικός (arkhikós)
- Hindi: स्वायत्त (hi) (svāyatt), सार्वभौम (hi) (sārvabhaum)
- Hungarian: szuverén (hu)
- Icelandic: fullvalda
- Indonesian: berdaulat (id)
- Interlingua: soveran
- Irish: ardcheannasach, ceannasach
- Italian: sovrano (it)
- Japanese: 独立した (ja) (どくりつした, dokuritsu shita), 自立した (ja) (じりつした, jiritsu shita), 自主的な (ja) (じしゅてきな, jishuteki na)
- Kazakh: егемен (egemen), егеменді (egemendı)
- Korean: 자주적(自主的) (ko) (jajujeok), 독립되다 (ko) (dongnipdoeda)
- Kyrgyz: суверендүү (ky) (suverendüü), суверенитеттүү (ky) (suverenitettüü), эгемен (egemen), эгемендик (egemendik)
- Latvian: suverēns
- Lithuanian: suverenus
- Macedonian: суверен m (suveren)
- Manx: ard-reeoil
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: suveren
- Occitan: sobeiran (oc)
- Pashto: مستقل (mostaqel)
- Persian: مستقل (fa) (mostaqell)
- Polish: suwerenny (pl), niepodległy (pl), niezależny (pl)
- Portuguese: soberano (pt)
- Romanian: suveran (ro)
- Russian: сувере́нный (ru) (suverénnyj)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Slovak: zvrchovaný, suverénny
- Slovene: suveren
- Spanish: soberano (es)
- Swedish: självständig (sv), suverän (sv)
- Tajik: мустақил (mustaqil)
- Telugu: సార్వభౌమ (sārvabhauma), సర్వసత్తాక (sarvasattāka)
- Turkish: egemen (tr), müstakil (tr)
- Ukrainian: сувере́нний (suverénnyj)
- Uyghur: مۇستەقىل (musteqil)
- Uzbek: suveren (uz), mustaqil (uz)
- Volapük: soveränik
exceptional in quality
- Bulgarian: превъзхо́ден (bg) (prevǎzhóden)
- Finnish: erinomainen (fi), suvereeni (fi), ylivertainen (fi)
- Italian: eccezionale (it), supremo (it) m
- Japanese: 卓越した (ja) (たくえつした, takuetsu shita)
- Romanian: suveran (ro) m
- Russian: превосхо́дный (ru) (prevosxódnyj)
- Swedish: suverän (sv)
sovereign (plural sovereigns)
- A monarch; the ruler of a country.
1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 242-249:
Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,
Said then the lost Archangel, this the seat
That we must change for Heaven?, this mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be it so, since hee
Who now is Sovran can dispose and bid
What shall be right : fardest from him is best
Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream
Above his equals. […]
1785, Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia:
No question is to be made but that the bed of the Missisippi[sic] belongs to the sovereign, that is, to the nation.
- One who is not a subject to a ruler or nation.
- Ellipsis of sovereign citizen.
2019 March 29, Ashley Powers, “How Sovereign Citizens Helped Swindle $1 Billion From the Government They Disavow”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
A loose network of perhaps tens of thousands of far-right antigovernment extremists, sovereigns share certain conspiratorial beliefs and, sometimes, a desire to profit off a government whose legitimacy they deny.
- Ellipsis of sovereign citizen.
- A gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal value of one pound sterling but in practice used as a bullion coin.
- A former Australian gold coin, minted from 1855–1931, of one pound value.
- A very large champagne bottle with the capacity of about 25 liters, equivalent to 331⁄3 standard bottles.
- Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalini, or genus Basilarchia, eg., ursula, viceroy.
- (UK, slang) A large, garish ring; a sovereign ring.
- 2004, December 11, "Birkenhead, Merseyside" BBC Voices recording (0:06:52)
- No, someone who wears loads of sovereigns as well loads of gold and has uh a curly perm and peroxide blonde hair, orange, orange sunbed skin and a fringe like this blow-dried to death, that’s a ‘scally’.
2011 July 1, Caroline Davies, “Harrods 'ladies' code' drives out sales assistant”, in The Guardian[3]:
No visible tattoos, sovereigns, mismatched jewellery, scrunchies, large clips or hoop earrings.
- 2004, December 11, "Birkenhead, Merseyside" BBC Voices recording (0:06:52)
monarch
- Arabic: عَاهِل m (ʕāhil), مَلِك (ar) m (malik)
- Bashkir: батша, хаким
- Belarusian: суверэ́н m (suvjerén), сувэрэ́н m (suverén), гаспада́р (be) m (haspadár), улада́р m (uladár), валада́р m (valadár), улады́ка m (uladýka), мана́рх m (manárx)
- Bulgarian: сувере́н m (suverén), повели́тел (bg) m (povelítel)
- Catalan: sobirà (ca) m
- Chinese:
- Czech: vládce (cs) m, panovník (cs) m, suverén (cs) m
- Danish: hersker (da) c, suveræn c
- Dutch: vorst (nl) m, soeverein (nl) m
- Esperanto: suvereno (eo)
- Finnish: monarkki (fi), hallitsija (fi)
- French: souverain (fr) m
- Galician: soberano (gl) m, soberana f
- Georgian: სუვერენი (suvereni), სუვერენული მონარქი (suverenuli monarki), მონარქი (monarki)
- German: Souverän (de) m, Herrscher (de) m
- Greek: ηγεμόνας (el) (igemónas)
- Hungarian: uralkodó (hu)
- Ido: rejo (io)
- Indonesian: penguasa (id)
- Interlingua: soverano
- Irish: rí (ga) m, banríon f
- Italian: sovrano (it)
- Japanese: 君主 (ja) (くんしゅ, kunshu)
- Korean: 군주(君主) (ko) (gunju)
- Macedonian: владетел m (vladetel), суверен m (suveren), владар m (vladar)
- Malayalam: സർവ്വാധികാരി (saṟvvādhikāri)
- Manx: ard-ree m
- Norwegian:
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Polish: suweren (pl) m, władca (pl) m
- Portuguese: suserano (pt) m, soberano (pt) m, soberana (pt) f
- Romanian: suveran (ro) m
- Russian: сувере́н (ru) m (suverén), госуда́рь (ru) m (gosudárʹ), госуда́рыня (ru) f (gosudárynja), власти́тель (ru) m (vlastítelʹ), власти́тельница (ru) f (vlastítelʹnica), мона́рх (ru) m (monárx), влады́ка (ru) m (vladýka), повели́тель (ru) m (povelítelʹ), повели́тельница (ru) f (povelítelʹnica)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Slovak: vládca m, panovník m
- Slovene: vladar (sl) m
- Spanish: soberano (es)
- Swedish: regent (sv) c, monark (sv), suverän (sv) c
- Tagalog: higpuno
- Tocharian B: kamartīke
- Turkish: kral (tr)
- Ukrainian: сувере́н m (suverén), госуда́р m (hosudár), волода́р (uk) m (volodár), влада́р (uk) m (vladár), госпо́дар (uk) m (hospódar), влади́ка m (vladýka), мона́рх (uk) m (monárx)
- Volapük: soveran
coin
- Bulgarian: сувере́н m (suverén), зла́тна ли́ра f (zlátna líra)
- Catalan: sobirà (ca) m
- Finnish: punnan kultaraha
- French: souverain (fr) m
- Irish: sabhran m
- Macedonian: соверин m (soverin)
- Manx: punt airhey m
- Maori: awherangi, karaune
- Polish: suweren (pl) m
- Russian: со́верен (ru) m (sóveren)
- Scottish Gaelic: sòbharan m, sòbhran m
- Spanish: soberano (es) m
- Welsh: sofren f
sovereign (third-person singular simple present sovereigns, present participle sovereigning, simple past and past participle sovereigned)
- (transitive) To rule over as a sovereign.