WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Sov"er*eign ( or ; 277)
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [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.]
Definition : 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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Sov"er*eign ( or ; 277)
Part of Speech : n.
Definition : 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. (Zo?l.)

Defn: 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