Sovereign, in Politics, the person or body of persons in whom the supreme executive and legislative power of a state is vested. In limited monarchies sovereignty is in a qualified sense ascribed to the king, who, though the supreme magistrate, is not the sole legislator. A state in which the legislative authority is not trammelled by any foreign power is called a sovereign state. See GOVERNMENT; and for the 20s. piece, see POUND.
Sovereign
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 9: Bound to Swansea, p. 595
Source scan(s): p. 0610