n. & adj.
n. 1 a supreme ruler, esp. a monarch. 2 Brit. hist. a gold coin nominally worth $1.
adj. 1 a supreme (sovereign power). b unmitigated (sovereign contempt). 2 excellent; effective (a sovereign remedy). 3 possessing sovereign power (a sovereign State). 4 royal (our sovereign lord). the sovereign good the greatest good, esp. for a State, its people, etc. sovereign pontiff see PONTIFF. sovereignly adv. sovereignty n. (pl. -ies).
[ ME f. OF so(u)verain f. L: -g- by assoc. with reign ]