Where does “sovereign” come from?
Sovereign comes from Middle English sovereyn, from Old French soverain, from Latin superanus meaning "supreme," derived from Latin super meaning "over" plus the suffix -anus.
sovereign (English): Exercising power of rule; Exceptional in quality;...
Definitions
- Exercising power of rule; Exceptional in quality;...
Ancestry of “sovereign”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sovereyn | Famous, awesome, amazing; worthy of respect;... |
| 2 | Old French | soverain | sovereign |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | superanus | — |
| 4 | Latin | super | "accusative" above, on the top of, upon;... |
| 5 | Latin | eks-uper | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upéri | alternative reconstruction of *upér |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |