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scepter - 6 dictionary results

scep⋅ter

  [sep-ter]
Use scepter in a Sentence
–noun
1. a rod or wand borne in the hand as an emblem of regal or imperial power.
2. royal or imperial power or authority; sovereignty.
–verb (used with object)
3. to give a scepter to; invest with authority.
Also, especially British, sceptre.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME (s)ceptre < OF < L scēptrum < Gk skêptron staff; akin to shaft

Related forms:
scep⋅ter⋅less, adjective
scep⋅tral  [sep-truhl] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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scep·ter   (sěp'tər)   
n.  
  1. A staff held by a sovereign as an emblem of authority.
  2. Ruling power or authority; sovereignty.
tr.v.   scep·tered, scep·ter·ing, scep·ters
To invest with royal authority.

[Middle English sceptre, from Old French, from Latin scēptrum, from Greek skēptron.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Scepter

Scep"ter\, Sceptre \Scep"tre\, n. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. ? a staff to lean upon, a scepter; probably akin to E. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]

1. A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace.

And the king held out Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. --Esther v. 2.

2. Hence, royal or imperial power or authority; sovereignty; as, to assume the scepter.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. --Gen. xlix. 10.

Scepter

Scep"ter\, Sceptre \Scep"tre\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scepteredor Sceptred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Scepteringor Sceptring.] To endow with the scepter, or emblem of authority; to invest with royal authority.

To Britain's queen the sceptered suppliant bends. --Tickell.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : scepter
Spanish: cetro,
German: der Amtsstab,
Japanese: ほこ形職杖
More Translations »

scepter 
c.1300, from O.Fr. sceptre, from L. sceptrum, from Gk. skeptron "staff," from root of skeptesthai "to prop oneself." Cognate with O.E. sceaft (see shaft).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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scepter

ornamented rod or staff borne by rulers on ceremonial occasions as an emblem of authority and sovereignty. The primeval symbol of the staff was familiar to the Greeks and Romans and to the Germanic tribes in various forms (baculus, "long staff"; sceptrum, "short staff") and had various significances. The staff of command belonged to God as well as to the earthly ruler; there were the old man's staff, the messenger's wand, the shepherd's crook, and, derived from it, the bishop's, and so on.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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