sovereignty
[sov-rin-tee, suhv-]
- the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority.
- the status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign;royal rank or position; royalty.
- supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community.
- rightful status, independence, or prerogative.
- a sovereign or independent state, community, or political unit.
Show More
Origin of sovereignty
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
sovereignty
- supreme and unrestricted power, as of a state
- the position, dominion, or authority of a sovereign
- an independent state
Show More
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 self-sovereignty
sovereignty
n.
mid-14c., "pre-eminence," from Anglo-French sovereynete, Old French souverainete, from soverain (see sovereign (adj.)). Meaning "authority, rule, supremacy of power or rank" is recorded from late 14c.; sense of "existence as an independent state" is from 1715.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sovereignty
[(sov-ruhn-tee, sov-uhr-uhn-tee)]
A nation or state's supreme power within its borders. A government might respond, for example, to criticism from foreign governments of its treatment of its own citizens by citing its rights of sovereignty.
Show More
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.