Sov"er*eign [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 subject to, another power.
© Webster 1913.
Sov"er*eign
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. Zool.
Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy.
Syn. -- King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor.
© Webster 1913.