Sovereign

Sovereign is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old Frenchsouverain, which is ultimately derived from the Latinsuperānus, meaning 'above'.

The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or head of state to head of municipal government or head of a chivalric order. As a result, the word sovereignty has more recently also come to mean independence or autonomy.