Meaning

noun government free from external control

noun royal authority; the dominion of a monarch

noun the authority of a state to govern another state

originPIE word *upér From Late Middle English sovereynte, souvereynte [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sovereyneté, soverentee, and Old French soveraineté, souveraineté (modern French souveraineté), from soverain + -té (suffix forming nouns, often denoting a property or quality). Soverain is derived from Vulgar Latin *superānus (“chief; sovereign”), from Latin super (“above; on top of”) (ultimately…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0