SOVEREIGNS
Noun
sovereigns
plural of sovereign
Source: Wiktionary
SOVEREIGN
Sov"er*eign ( or ; 277), a. Etym: [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.]
1. Supreme or highest in power; superior to all others; chief; as,
our sovereign prince.
2. Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or
entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign
state; a sovereign discretion.
3. Princely; royal. "Most sovereign name." Shak.
At Babylon was his sovereign see. Chaucer.
4. Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.
We acknowledge him [God] our sovereign good. Hooker.
5. Efficacious in the highest degree; effectual; controlling; as, a
sovereign remedy. Dryden.
Such a sovereign influence has this passion upon the regulation of
the lives and actions of men. South.
Sovereign state, a state which administers its own government, and is
not dependent upon, or subject to, another power.
Sov"er*eign ( or ; 277), n.
1. The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme
authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or
emperor.
No question is to be made but that the bed of the Mississippi belongs
to the sovereign, that is, to the nation. Jefferson.
2. 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.
3. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as
the ursula and the viceroy.
Syn.
– King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition