Meanings
monarch1
plural monarchs
- The ruler of an absolute monarchy or the head of state of a constitutional monarchy.
Never was monarch better fear'd and lov'd / Than is your Majesty.
1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 25Synonyms: sovereign
- A monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and others of genus Danaus, found primarily in North America.
But I know the monarchs are close by, their orange-and-black wings folded, dusted, and baked by heat, ready to flee south.
2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 223 - Aboriginal EnglishA police officer.
‘Skippy gets off. An ya know the first thing e says to them monarch? E turns round on em an yelps, “An now ya can just gimme back that bottle.”’
1961, Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Text Classics, published 2012, page 41 - The chief or best thing of its kind.
- Any bird of the family Monarchidae.
Synonyms: monarch flycatcher
Monarch2
plural Monarchs
- countableuncountableA surname.
- Locations in Canada:
- countableuncountableA hamlet in Lethbridge County, Alberta.
- countableuncountableThe Monarch, a mountain in British Columbia.
- countableuncountableTwo other peaks with the affix "mountain": Monarch Mountain (Alberta) and Monarch Mountain (British Columbia).
- A number of places in the United States:
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community near Monarch Pass, Chaffee County, Colorado.
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Cascade County, Montana.
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia.
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Sheridan County, Wyoming.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe ruler of an absolute monarchy or the head of state of a constitutional monarchy.
nounAny bird of the family Monarchidae.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right
nounlarge migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweed
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμονάρχης
- Late Latinmonarcha
- Middle Frenchmonarque
- Englishmonarch
From Middle French monarque, from Late Latin monarcha, from Ancient Greek μονάρχης (monárkhēs), variant of μόναρχος (mónarkhos, “sole ruler”), from μόνος (mónos, “only”) + ἀρχός (arkhós, “leader”), equivalent to mono- + -arch. * (butterfly): See monarch butterfly.
More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans monarg
- monargruler
Ancient Greek μόναρχος, μονάρχης
- μόναρχος (mónarkhos)ruler
- μονάρχης (monárkhēs)ruler
Arabic عَاهِل
- عَاهِل (ʕāhil)ruler
Basque monarka
- monarkaruler
Bengali সম্রাট, সম্রাজ্ঞী
- সম্রাট (śomraṭ)ruler
- সম্রাজ্ঞী (śomrajni)ruler
Bulgarian мона́рх, монарх
- мона́рх (monárh)ruler
- монарх (monarh)butterfly Danaus plexippus
Catalan monarca, monarca
- monarcaruler
- monarcabutterfly Danaus plexippus
Chinese Mandarin 君主, 君王
- 君主 (jūnzhǔ)ruler
- 君王 (jūnwáng)ruler
Czech panovník, monarcha
- panovníkruler
- monarcharuler
Danish monark
- monarkruler
Dutch monarch
- monarchruler
Esperanto monarĥo, monarko
- monarĥoruler
- monarkoruler
Estonian monarh
- monarhruler
Finnish monarkki, monarkkiperhonen
- monarkkiruler
- monarkkiperhonenbutterfly Danaus plexippus
- kuningas-chief or best thing of its kind
- monarkkibird of the family Monarchidae
French monarque
- monarqueruler
German Monarch, Monarchin
- Monarchruler
- Monarchinruler
- Fürstruler
Greek μονάρχης, μονάρχης
- μονάρχης (monárchis)ruler
- μονάρχης (monárchis)butterfly Danaus plexippus
Hebrew מוֹנַרְךְ
- מוֹנַרְךְ (monárkh)ruler
Hindi राजा, अधिराज
- राजा (rājā)ruler
- अधिराज (adhirāj)ruler
- सम्राट (samrāṭ)ruler
Hungarian uralkodó, egyeduralkodó
- uralkodóruler
- egyeduralkodóruler
- fejedelemruler
- monarcharuler
Icelandic einvaldsherra, konungur
- einvaldsherraruler
- konungurruler
- drottningruler
- furstiruler
- keisariruler
- einvaldurruler
- einvaldur þjóðhöfðingi konungsríkisruler
- einvaldur þjóðhöfðingi keisaradæmisruler
- einvaldur þjóðhöfðingi furstadæmisruler
- höfðingiruler
- jöfurruler
Indonesian raja
- rajaruler
Irish monarc
- monarcruler
Italian monarca
- monarcaruler
Japanese 君主, 王
- 君主 (kunshu)ruler
- 王 (ō)ruler
Korean 군주, 군왕
- 군주 (gunju)ruler
- 군왕 (gunwang)ruler
- 제왕나비 (jewangnabi)butterfly Danaus plexippus
- 군주나비 (gunjunabi)butterfly Danaus plexippus
Latvian monarhs
- monarhsruler
Lithuanian monarchas
- monarchasruler
Malay ratu, raja
- raturuler
- rajaruler
- permaisuriruler
- pemerintahruler
Norwegian Bokmål monark
- monarkruler
Norwegian Nynorsk monark
- monarkruler
Persian مونارک, پادِشاه
- مونارک (monârk)ruler
- پادِشاه (pâdešâh)ruler
- پادشاه (pâdšâh)ruler
- مَلَکه (malake)ruler
- پروانه شهریار (parvâne-šahryâr)butterfly Danaus plexippus
Polish monarcha, monarchini
- monarcharuler
- monarchiniruler
Portuguese monarca, borboleta-monarca
- monarcaruler
- borboleta-monarcabutterfly Danaus plexippus
Punjabi ਰਾਜਾ
- ਰਾਜਾ (rājā)ruler
Romanian monarh, монарх
- monarhruler
- монарх (monarh)ruler
- fluture monarhbutterfly Danaus plexippus
Russian мона́рх
- мона́рх (monárx)ruler
Scottish Gaelic mhonarc
- mhonarcruler
Slovak panovník, monarcha
- panovníkruler
- monarcharuler
Spanish monarca
- monarcaruler
Swedish monark
- monarkruler
Tagalog monarka
- monarkaruler
Tamil அரசன்
- அரசன் (aracaṉ)ruler
Thai กษัตริย์
- กษัตริย์ (gà-sàt)ruler
Turkish hakan, hükümdar
- hakanruler
- hükümdarruler
- monarkruler
Ukrainian мона́рх, монархиня
- мона́рх (monárx)ruler
- монархиня (monarxynja)ruler
Vietnamese vua, quân chủ
- vuaruler
- quân chủruler
- quốc vươngruler
Welsh teyrn, glöyn y llaethlys
- teyrnruler
- glöyn y llaethlysbutterfly Danaus plexippus
Yiddish מאָנאַרך
- מאָנאַרך (monarkh)ruler
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
monarch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarch
“monarch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarch. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monarch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarch.
Source: monarch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.