sovereignty

Noun

sovereignty (countable and uncountable, plural sovereignties)

1. Of a ruler (especially a monarch): supreme authority or dominion over something.
   • […] Zephyrus the VVeſterne vvind being in loue vvith her [Chloris], and coueting her to vvyfe, gaue her for a dovvrie, the chiefedome and ſoueraigntye of al flovvers and greene herbes, grovving on earth.1579, E. K., “[Aprill. Ægloga Quarta.] Glosse.”, in Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 15, verso
   • […] Androgeus, falſe to natiue ſoyle, / And enuious of Vncles ſoueraintie, / Betrayd his countrey vnto forreine ſpoyle: […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48, page 338

   Synonyms:

   diadem

   Antonyms:

   nonsovereignty

2. (broadly) Of a nation or other polity: the state of being able to control resources, make laws independently, and otherwise govern itself without the coercion or concurrence of other polities.
   • Sovereignty, as a matter of right, appertains to the Nation only, and not to any individual; and a Nation has at all times an inherent indefeaſible right to aboliſh any form of Government it finds inconvenient, and eſtabliſh ſuch as accords vvith its intereſt, diſpoſition, and happineſs.1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, London: […] J. S. Jordan, […], →OCLC, page 157
   • There is no difficulty is showing that the ideally best form of government is that in which the sovereignty, or supreme controlling power in the last resort, is vested in the entire aggregate of the community; every citizen not only having a voice in the exercise of that ultimate sovereignty, but...1861, John Stuart Mill, “That the Ideally Best Form of Government is Representative Government”, in Considerations on Representative Government, London: Parker, Son, and Bourn, […], →OCLC, page 53

   Synonyms:

   autarchy, independence, nationality, nationhood

   Antonyms:

   nonsovereignty

3. (broadly) Of a person: the liberty to decide one's actions and thoughts.

   Antonyms:

   nonsovereignty

4. Pre-eminent or superior excellence; also, superior ability to achieve something; mastery.
   • [His head,] Wherein by curious ſoueraigntie of Art, / Are fixt his piercing inſtruments of ſight: / Whose fiery circles beare encompaſſed / A heauen of heauenly bodies in their Spheares: […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
   • Of all complexions the culd ſoueraigntie, / Do meete as at a faire in her faire cheeke, / VVhere ſeuerall vvorthies make one dignitie, / VVhere nothing vvantes, that vvant itſelfe doth ſeeke.c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby...

   Antonyms:

   nonsovereignty

5. (countable) A territory under the rule of a sovereign; an independent or self-governing nation or other polity.
   • Theſe Expences […] vvould not for the preſent, Rebus ſic ſtantibus [with things thus standing], become this King, vvhoſe fame and honour (as all other Sovereignties, ſo his in particular) ſtood more upon Reputation than profit; […]1656, William Sanderson, “The Reign and Death of King James, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, the First, &c.”, in A Compleat History of the Lives and Reigns of Mary Queen of Scotland, and of...
   • VVhence it is clear as Noon-day that all the Horns here mentioned ſignifying particular Sovereignties, there being in the mean time but one Beaſt mentioned, vvhich neceſſarily implies but one Empire, State, or Kingdom, that all theſe particular Sovereignties muſt be the Sovereignties of one and the...1681, Henry More, “Vision III. The Vision of the Ram and He-goat, Betokening the Kings of Media and Persia, and the Kings of Græcia, Chap. 8.”, in A Plain and Continued Exposition of the Several...