GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Sovereign , a. [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.]
   Supreme or highest in power; superior to all others; chief; as, our sovereign prince.
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   Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion.
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   Princely; royal. “Most sovereign name.” 
   Shak.
   
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   At Babylon was his sovereign see.
   Chaucer.
   
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   Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.
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   We acknowledge him [God] our sovereign good.
   Hooker.
   
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   Efficacious in the highest degree; effectual; controlling; as, a sovereign remedy.
   Dryden.
   
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   Such a sovereign influence has this passion upon the regulation of the lives and actions of men.
   South.
   
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   Sovereign state, a state which administers its own government, and is not dependent upon, or subject to, another power.
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2.       
   Sovereign , n.
    The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor.
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   No question is to be made but that the bed of the Mississippi belongs to the sovereign, that is, to the nation.
   Jefferson.
   
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   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.
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   (Zool.) Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy.
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   Syn. -- King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor.
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