[scep.ter] n [ME sceptre, fr. MF ceptre, fr. L sceptrum, fr. Gk skeptron staff, scepter, fr. skeptesthai to prop oneself--more at shaft] (14c) 1: a staff or baton borne by a sovereign as an emblem of authority
2: royal or imperial authority: sovereignty
[2]scepter vt scep.tered ; scep.ter.ing (1526): to invest with the scepter in token of royal authority