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sovereign

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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

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