sovereign

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈsɒv.ər.ɪn/, /ˈsɒv.rɪn/, US /ˈsɑːv.rən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English soverain, borrowed from Old French soverain (“highest, supreme, ruler”) (modern French souverain),^[2][3][4] from Vulgar Latin *superānus (“chief, principal”), from Latin super (“over, above”),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *uper (“over”).^[3] The same Vulgar Latin word gave Spanish soberano and Italian soprano.^[3] The spelling with g, soveraigne in 1357 and sovereign about 1378 in Piers Plowman, comes from association with reign.^[2][6][5][7] Milton printed it sovran, as if from Italian.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A superior, ruler, lord or master: about 1280 in Barnhart, the late 13th century in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A king or queen, a recognized supreme ruler, is from about 1300.^[3] The adjective meant great or supreme from the early 14th century, and having supreme power from the mid-14th.^[3] The gold coin was first minted under Henry VII and was worth 22s. 6d.;^[6] it is recorded from the late 15th century, and its value became one pound in 1817.^[3] In 17th- and 18th-century political writing the sovereign could be the people as the source of power, as opposed to a monarch.^[3] Sovereignty is from the 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1280 – a ruler, master.^[2]
• c. 1300 – a king or queen.^[3]
• early 14th century – supreme (adjective).^[3]
• 1357 – soveraigne.^[2]
• late 15th century – a gold coin.^[3]
• 1817 – the pound sovereign.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who holds supreme authority, especially a monarch.
2. A former British gold coin worth one pound.

Adjective

1. Self-governing and independent: a sovereign state.
2. Having supreme rank or power.
3. Paramount; supreme.
4. Of a remedy, of outstanding effect: a sovereign remedy.

Word family

• sovereignly
• nonsovereign
• undersovereign
• unsovereign
• sovereignty

Related words

• super-
• soprano
• superior

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press