sceptre
[sep-ter]
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scepter
[sep-ter]
- a rod or wand borne in the hand as an emblem of regal or imperial power.
- royal or imperial power or authority; sovereignty.
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- to give a scepter to; invest with authority.
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Also especially British, scep·tre.
Origin of scepter
1250–1300; Middle English (s)ceptre < Old French < Latin scēptrum < Greek skêptron staff; akin to shaft
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sceptre
Historical Examples
And since his son is of an age too tender to wield the sceptre, the boy's mother does it in his name.
St. Martin's SummerRafael Sabatini
Who then should grasp the rich prize of the sceptre of France?
Henry IV, Makers of HistoryJohn S. C. Abbott
In one hand Zeus held the sceptre, and in the other a winged Victory.
Had she, with her own hands, given her crown and sceptre to another?
The Old Countess; or, The Two ProposalsAnn S. Stephens
The sceptre must pass into other hands even more feeble than his.
The Rise of the Hugenots, Vol. 1 (of 2)Henry Martyn Baird
sceptre
US scepter
- a ceremonial staff held by a monarch as the symbol of authority
- imperial authority; sovereignty
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- (tr) to invest with authority
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French sceptre, from Latin scēptrum, from Greek skeptron staff
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sceptre
scepter
n.
c.1300, ceptre, from Old French sceptre (12c.), from Latin sceptrum "royal staff," from Greek skeptron "staff to lean on; royal scepter;" in transferred use, "royalty," from root of skeptein "to prop or stay, lean on." Apparently a cognate with Old English sceaft (see shaft (n.1)). The verb meaning "to furnish with a scepter" is from 1520s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper