Sun King

British

noun

the. An epithet of Louis XIV

"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

Sun King Cultural

A nickname for Louis xiv that captures the magnificence of his court and of the Palace of Versailles, which he built. Louis himself adopted the sun as his emblem.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Louis XVI — the Sun King — and Queen Marie Antoinette held lavish banquets at Versailles before they were beheaded during the French revolution.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2024

The Sun King Apartments offers stability for once-homeless families such as Anica Rubang and Angel Leon, who have struggled to stay housed for years.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

A portrait of Napoleon in court dress, giving the Sun King the side eye from one wall over, serves as an entertaining complement.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2023

But the Sun King, as he has been dubbed, reigns on.

From BBC • Nov. 16, 2022

Louis Xiy aged fifteen, as Apollo, the Sun King, in Lully's Le Ballet de la nuit of 1653.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023