MONARCHY

monarchy

(noun) an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

monarchy (countable and uncountable, plural monarchies)

A government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).

The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.

A form of government where sovereignty is embodied by a single ruler in a state and his high aristocracy representing their separate divided lands within the state and their low aristocracy representing their separate divided fiefs.

States based on a system of governance headed by a king or a queen.

Usage notes

Historically refers to a wide variety of systems with a single, nominally absolute ruler (compare autocracy, dictatorship), today primarily refers to and connotes a traditional, hereditary position, often with mainly symbolic power. Typically used of rulers who use the terms king/queen or emperor/empress.

Synonyms

• (rule): See government

• (state): kingdom

Coordinate terms

• See government

Anagrams

• nomarchy

Source: Wiktionary

Mon"arch*y, n.; pl. Monarchies. Etym: [F. monarchie, L. monarchia, Gr. Monarch.]

1. A state or government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch.

2. A system of government in which the chief ruler is a monarch. In those days he had affected zeal for monarchy. Macaulay.

3. The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom. What scourage for perjury Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence. Shak. Fifth monarchy, a universal monarchy, supposed to be the subject of prophecy in Daniel ii.; the four preceding monarchies being Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman. See Fifth Monarchy men, under Fifth.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition