Dictionary Meaning and Definition on 'Sovereignty'
- government free from external control
- royal authority; the dominion of a monarch [syn: reign]
- Sovereignty \Sov"er*eign*ty\, n.; pl. Sovereignties. [OE.
soverainetee, OF. sovrainet['e], F. souverainet['e].]
The quality or state of being sovereign, or of being a
sovereign; the exercise of, or right to exercise, supreme
power; dominion; sway; supremacy; independence; also, that
which is sovereign; a sovereign state; as, Italy was formerly
divided into many sovereignties.
Woman desiren to have sovereignty As well over their
husband as over their love. --Chaucer.
Wikipedia Meaning and Definition on 'Sovereignty'
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory.
Different cultures and governments have, understandably, had different ideas about sovereignty.
The Roman jurist Ulpian observed that:
Ulpian was expressing the idea that the Emperor exercised a rather absolute form of sovereignty, although he did not use the term expressly. Ulpian's statements were known in medieval Europe, but sovereignty was not an important concept in medieval times. Medieval monarchs were not sovereign, at least not strongly so, because they were constrained by, and shared power with, their feudal aristocracy. Furthermore, both were strongly constrained by custom.[See more about Sovereignty at Dictionary 3.0 Encyclopedia]
Words and phrases related to 'Sovereignty'
'Sovereignty' in famous quotation sentence
* It was no Insurrection or Rebellion, or even Civil War in any proper sense of these terms... The war... was a war between States regularly organized into two separate Federal Republics... In the beginning, and throughout the contest, the object of the 'Confederates' was to maintain the separate Sovereignty of each State, and the right of self-government, which that necessarily carries with it. The object of the 'Federals,' on the contrary, was to maintain a Centralized Sovereignty over all the States on both sides. This was the fundamental principle involved in the Conflict, which must be kept continually in mind. - Alexander Hamilton Stephens
* Just what is it that America stands for If she stands for one thing more than another it is for the sovereignty of self-governing people. - Woodrow Wilson
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