Sovereignty Meaning

/ˈsɒvɹənti/
B2

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounThe quality or state of being sovereign.

nounThe quality or state of being sovereign., Of a ruler (especially a monarch): supreme authority or dominion over something.

We must pay attention to the fact that no nation claimed sovereignty over this region.
Sovereignty resides in the people.
The country claimed sovereignty over the island.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The nation's ____ was threatened by foreign powers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The nation worked hard to maintain its full ____ and independence from its more powerful neighbors.

PIE word *upér From Late Middle English sovereynte, souvereynte [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sovereyneté, soverentee, and Old French soveraineté, souveraineté (modern French souveraineté), from soverain + -té (suffix forming nouns, often denoting a property or quality). Soverain is derived from Vulgar Latin *superānus (“chief; sovereign”), from Latin super (“above; on top of”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“above, over”)) + -ānus (“suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, usually denoting a relationship of origin, position, or possession”)). The English word is analysable as sovereign + -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives).

"[…] Zephyrus the VVeſterne vvind being in loue vvith her [Chloris], and coueting her to vvyfe, gaue her for a dovvrie, the chiefedome and ſoueraigntye of al flovvers and greene herbes, grovving on earth." — 1579, E. K., “[Aprill. Ægloga Quarta.] Glosse.”, in Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 15, verso:
"[…] Androgeus, falſe to natiue ſoyle, / And enuious of Vncles ſoueraintie, / Betrayd his countrey vnto forreine ſpoyle: […]" — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 48, page 338:
"The King of Nauarre hath alſo tvvo parliaments which ſerue for the countries which he holdeth in ſoueraigntie." — 1592, [John Eliot?], The Survay or Topographical Description of France: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe, […], →OCLC, page 2:
"But Fortune, oh, / She is corrupted, chang'd, and vvonne from thee, / Sh'adulterates hourely vvith thine Vnckle Iohn, / And vvith her golden hand hath pluckt on France / To tread dovvne faire reſpect of Soueraigntie, / And made his Maieſtie the bavvd to theirs." — c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 8, column 2:
"[…] Joves ovvn Tree, / That holds the VVoods in avvful Sov'raignty, / Requires a depth of Lodging in the Ground; […]" — 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 81, lines 397–399:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The nation's ____ was threatened by foreign powers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The nation worked hard to maintain its full ____ and independence from its more powerful neighbors.

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