monarchy
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English
Etymology
From Old French monarchie, from Late Latin monarchia, from Ancient Greek μοναρχία (monarkhía), from μόνος (mónos, “only”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “power, authority”). By surface analysis, mon- (“one, single”) + -archy (“rule, command”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɒnəki/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɑnɚki/
Audio (US) (file) - Hyphenation: mon‧ar‧chy
Noun
monarchy (countable and uncountable, plural monarchies)
- A government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).
- An absolute monarchy is a monarchy where the monarch is legally the ultimate authority in all temporal matters.
- A constitutional monarchy is a monarchy in which the monarch's power is legally constrained, ranging from where minor concessions have been made to appease certain factions to where the monarch is a figurehead with all real power in the hands of a legislative body.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i:
- He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle,
Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie,
Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie:
What will he doe ſupported by a king?
- The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
- What scourge for perjury / Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?
- A form of government where sovereignty is embodied by a single ruler in a state and his high aristocracy representing their separate divided lands within the state and their low aristocracy representing their separate divided fiefs.
- States based on a system of governance headed by a king or a queen.
Usage notes
Historically refers to a wide variety of systems with a single, nominally absolute ruler (compare autocracy, dictatorship), today primarily refers to and connotes a traditional, hereditary position, often with mainly symbolic power. Typically used of rulers who use the terms king/queen or emperor/empress.
Synonyms
- (rule): See Thesaurus:government
- (state): kingdom
Coordinate terms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
form of government with a hereditary head of state
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See also
Anagrams
Polish
Pronunciation
Noun
monarchy