scepter

[ sep-ter ]

noun

1. a rod or wand borne in the hand as an emblem of regal or imperial power.
2. royal or imperial power or authority; sovereignty.

verb (used with object)

1. to give a scepter to; invest with authority.

Other Words From

• scepter·less adjective
• scep·tral [sep, -tr, uh, l], adjective
• un·sceptered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of scepter¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (s)ceptre, from Old French, from Latin scēptrum, from Greek skêptron “staff”; akin to shaft

Example Sentences

The crown and scepter will be costuming, allowing him to uphold the illusion that the monarchy still has a role to play in a modern constitutional republic.

From Washington Blade

He portrays Merkel holding a Euro-topped scepter as she sits on a throne adorned with an EU emblem-inspired clock.

From The Daily Beast

Offering the scepter to an ex-President Obama is one option, writes Geoffrey Robertson.

From The Daily Beast

“Katy has a status,” he says, pointing to a painting of Perry wielding a candy-cane scepter.

From The Daily Beast

In that relationship, the lower-class king of his dingy domain is enthroned atop a commode and uses a toilet brush as a scepter.

From The Daily Beast

On the throne sat an old132 magician, with a crown on his ugly head and a scepter in his hand.

From Project Gutenberg

Certainly he was not a man of sufficient ability worthily to hold the scepter of so great an empire.

From Project Gutenberg

The god was represented as seated on his throne, with his brows crowned with a wreath of olive and in his hand a scepter.

From Project Gutenberg

In the right hand there is a scepter terminating in a sign which has been thought to represent fire.

From Project Gutenberg

The present-day detective king wields his scepter for precisely the same reason.

From Project Gutenberg