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(? or ?; 277), 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.] 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 s Sov"ereign (? 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. (Zol.) Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy. Syn. -- King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor. スポンサード リンク
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