Nearby Words

quasi-sovereign

[sov-rin, sov-er-in, suhv-] Origin

sov·er·eign

[sov-rin, sov-er-in, suhv-]
noun
1.
a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
2.
a person who has sovereign power or authority.
3.
a group or body of persons or a state having sovereign authority.
4.
a gold coin of the United Kingdom, equal to one pound sterling: went out of circulation after 1914.
adjective
5.
belonging to or characteristic of a sovereign or sovereignty; royal.
6.
having supreme rank, power, or authority.
7.
supreme; preeminent; indisputable: a sovereign right.
8.
greatest in degree; utmost or extreme.
9.
being above all others in character, importance, excellence, etc.
EXPAND
10.
efficacious; potent: a sovereign remedy.
COLLAPSE

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Quasi-sovereign is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English soverain (alteration by influence of reign) < Old French soverain < Vulgar Latin *superānus, equivalent to Latin super- super- + -ānus -an

sov·er·eign·ly, adverb
non·sov·er·eign, noun, adjective
non·sov·er·eign·ly, adverb
qua·si-sov·er·eign, adjective
sub·sov·er·eign, noun, adjective
EXPAND
su·per·sov·er·eign, adjective, noun
un·der·sov·er·eign, noun
un·sov·er·eign, adjective
COLLAPSE


1. emperor, empress, potentate. 3. government. 5. regal, majestic, imperial, princely, monarchical, kingly, queenly. 7. chief, paramount, principal, predominant. 10. effective, effectual.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To quasi-sovereign
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sovereign
late 13c., from O.Fr. soverain, from V.L. *superanus "chief, principal," from L. super "over" (see super-). Spelling influenced by folk-etymology association with reign. Milton spelled it sovran, as though from It. sovrano. Meaning "gold coin worth 22s 6d" first recorded
EXPAND
1490s; value changed 1817 to 1 pound. As an adj., attested from early 14c.; of remedies or medicines, "potent in a high degree," from late 14c.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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