sovereign

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Princely; royal. “Most sovereign name.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

At Babylon was his sovereign see. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount. [ 1913 Webster ]

We acknowledge him [ God ] our sovereign good. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Efficacious in the highest degree; effectual; controlling; as, a sovereign remedy. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such a sovereign influence has this passion upon the regulation of the lives and actions of men. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sovereign state, a state which administers its own government, and is not dependent upon, or subject to, another power. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor. [ 1913 Webster ]

No question is to be made but that the bed of the Mississippi belongs to the sovereign, that is, to the nation. Jefferson. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- King; prince; monarch; potentate; emperor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To exercise supreme authority. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a sovereign manner; in the highest degree; supremely. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]