Sovereign is an adjective that means that one has supreme power or sovereignty. It can also be used as a noun to denote a supreme ruler.
Explanation:
Sovereign was derived from the word soverain that was used in Old French. One of the meanings it had was “above”, which is similar to today’s definition of it.
Sovereign is a word that can be used as an adjective or a noun depending from the context. The term is used to describe a state of superiority pertinent to a person or a country. For instance, a state can be called sovereign if it is independent and is not controlled by any other government.
An individual is considered sovereign if they have the highest level of authority among the group. For instance, a king is sovereign because he is the head of the government and no one is more superior that he is. If we consider this word a noun, then a king, a queen, or any other ruler of a land is a sovereign.
The meaning of sovereign can be also presented through the synonyms of the word. For the noun, they include the words king, monarch, queen, and ruler. For the adjective, synonyms are autonomous, independent, and free.
In fact, sovereign is often associated with a monarch, as these two words are frequently used together to compose a ruler’s title. Some of the titles belonging to the modern sovereign authorities include the Emperor, King, Pope, Prince, Sultan, and others. In the earlier decades, the Sovereign could also be a chief officer of a municipal government. In some countries, including Ireland, this word was commonly used to denote this position of an individual.