# sovereign

Pronunciation: US say "SOV-uh-rin" /ˈsɑv(ə)ɹɪn/; UK say "SOV-rin" /ˈsɒv.ɹɪn/

## Adjective

1. Exercising the power to govern, as a nation that rules itself does.
   - Simple: Having the power to rule, like a country that makes its own laws.
   - _After the war the former colony became a sovereign nation with its own army and currency._
   - _Each sovereign state controls its own borders and writes its own laws._
2. Holding the highest and final power, with no authority above it.
   - Simple: Having the highest power, with no one above.
   - _He ruled as sovereign lord of the island, answerable to no one._
   - _Under the new constitution the people hold sovereign authority, and every official answers to them._
4. Coming from, held by, or backed by a country's national government, used mainly in finance, as in sovereign debt or a sovereign wealth fund.
   - Simple: Given out, owned, or promised by a country's government, especially in money matters, as in sovereign debt.
   - _Pension funds hold sovereign bonds because they are seen as a safe place to park money._
   - _A sovereign guarantee allowed the state airline to borrow at a much lower interest rate._
7. Belonging to a monarch or prince, or having a royal, princely quality.
   - Simple: Belonging to a king, queen, or prince, or looking like one.
9. Greatest, highest or best; above all others in degree, importance or quality.
   - Simple: The greatest or best, more important or better than anything else.
   - _The philosopher held that happiness is the sovereign good of human life._
   - _He treated their threats with sovereign contempt and went on with his work._

## Noun

3. A reigning king or queen, or more broadly the person or body that holds supreme power in a state.
   - Simple: A king or queen, or any person or group that has the highest power in a country.
   - _The new sovereign was crowned before a congregation of foreign princes and diplomats._
   - _Ambassadors present their credentials to the sovereign before taking up their posts._
5. A British gold coin with a face value of one pound, still struck today but bought and sold mainly for its gold.
   - Simple: A British gold coin officially worth one pound, now bought and sold mainly for the gold in it.
   - _Her grandfather left her a sovereign in a velvet box, minted in the year he was born._
   - _Many investors buy sovereigns as a simple way to own a little gold._
6. In finance, a country's government considered as a borrower, one that sells bonds and is given credit ratings.
   - Simple: A country's government when it borrows money by selling bonds and is given a credit rating.
   - _Emerging-market sovereigns sold a record amount of bonds in the first quarter._
   - _Lending to a sovereign with a weak credit rating carries a higher risk of default._
8. Short for sovereign citizen: a person who claims not to be bound by the laws or courts of their country, often relying on pseudo-legal arguments. — Ellipsis of sovereign citizen.
   - Simple: Short for sovereign citizen: a person who says the government's laws do not apply to them.
   - _The driver insisted he was a sovereign and refused to hand over his license._
   - _A self-described sovereign buried the county court in pages of pseudo-legal filings._
10. A person who is not the subject of any ruler or nation.
   - Simple: A person who does not have to obey any king or country.
   - _In the state of nature, the philosopher argued, each man is a sovereign, bound to no king or state._
   - _The settlers on the frontier saw themselves as sovereigns who owed allegiance to no distant crown._
12. A chunky gold ring set with a sovereign coin or a copy of one, also called a sovereign ring. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: A big, flashy gold ring with a sovereign coin, or a copy of one, set in it.
   - _He turned up to the pub in a shell suit with a chunky sovereign on his little finger._
   - _The bouncer's fists were covered in sovereigns, with a heavy gold ring on almost every finger._
13. A giant champagne bottle holding about 26 liters, as much as 35 standard bottles.
   - Simple: A huge champagne bottle that holds about 26 liters, the same as 35 normal bottles.
   - _Taittinger reportedly made the first sovereign in 1988 for the launch of a giant new cruise ship._
   - _Pouring from a sovereign takes two people and a special cradle._

## Adjective

11. Of a medicine or remedy, extremely potent or effective. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Of a medicine, very strong and very good at making people well.
   - _Her grandmother swore that ginger tea was a sovereign remedy for a sore throat._
   - _On long voyages sailors trusted lime juice as a sovereign cure for scurvy._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To rule over a land or people as its monarch or supreme ruler.
- (noun) Any of the North American butterflies once placed in the genus Basilarchia (now part of Limenitis), such as the viceroy.

## Origin

From Middle English sovereyn, from Old French soverain (modern French souverain), from Vulgar Latin *superānus, from Latin super, “above.” The spelling was influenced by a folk link with reign. It is a doublet of soprano, which comes from the same Latin root through Italian.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sovereign (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).