sovereignty

[sov-rin-tee, suhv-] /ˈsɒv rɪn ti, ˈsʌv-/
noun, plural sovereignties.
1.
the quality or state of being sovereign.
2.
the status, dominion, power, or authority of a sovereign; royalty.
3.
supreme and independent power or authority in government as possessed or claimed by a state or community.
4.
rightful status, independence, or prerogative.
5.
a sovereign state, community, or political unit.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English soverainte < Anglo-French sovereynete (Old French soverainete), equivalent to soverain sovereign + -ete -ty2
Related forms
self-sovereignty, noun
supersovereignty, noun
Examples from the web for sovereignty
  • But his desire to maintain the nation's sovereignty likely influenced his decision.
  • The importance of national sovereignty feels different when your enemy sits on the other side of a wall.
  • We live in a post military world where land holdings do not insure security or sovereignty.
  • In joining the euro, countries had to surrender some sovereignty.
  • But it would not challenge the sovereignty of either state, he says, nor would it be based on ethnicity.
  • But for a government so fiercely insistent on the inviolability of its own sovereignty, this was a big step.
  • Of course, a defaulting country may regard such intrusions as an unacceptable violation of its sovereignty.
  • Most of them are still far too touchy about sovereignty to agree on any meaningful pooling of it.
  • The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them.
  • Now, today, the common interest is more important than each individual nation's sovereignty.
British Dictionary definitions for sovereignty

sovereignty

/ˈsɒvrəntɪ/
noun (pl) -ties
1.
supreme and unrestricted power, as of a state
2.
the position, dominion, or authority of a sovereign
3.
an independent state
Word Origin and History for sovereignty
n.

mid-14c., "pre-eminence," from Anglo-French sovereynete, Old French souverainete, from soverain (see sovereign (adj.)). Meaning "authority, rule, supremacy of power or rank" is recorded from late 14c.; sense of "existence as an independent state" is from 1715.

sovereignty in Culture
sovereignty [(sov-ruhn-tee, sov-uhr-uhn-tee)]

A nation or state's supreme power within its borders. A government might respond, for example, to criticism from foreign governments of its treatment of its own citizens by citing its rights of sovereignty.

sovereignty in the Bible

of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15-23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).