monarchy

mon·ar·chy
M3O1N1A1R1C3H4Y4
UK/ˈmɒnəki/US/ˈmɑnɚki/US/ˈmɑˌnɑɹki/

noun

A government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).

“An absolute monarchy is a monarchy where the monarch is legally the ultimate authority in all temporal matters.”

Similar
governmentkingdom
OriginOld French monarchie ← Late Latin monarchia ← Ancient Greek μοναρχία →
Less commonScrabble 18
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Meanings

nounmonarchy (countable and uncountable, plural monarchies)

plural monarchies · alternative obsolete monarchie

  1. countableuncountableA government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).

    An absolute monarchy is a monarchy where the monarch is legally the ultimate authority in all temporal matters.

    2 more examples

    A constitutional monarchy is a monarchy in which the monarch's power is legally constrained, ranging from where minor concessions have been made to appease certain factions to where the monarch is a figurehead with all real power in the hands of a legislative body.

    He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle, Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie, Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie: What will he doe ſupported by a king?

    c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i
  2. countableuncountableThe territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.

    What scourge for perjury / Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?

    c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]

    Synonyms: government

  3. countableuncountableA form of government where sovereignty is embodied by a single ruler in a state and his high aristocracy representing their separate divided lands within the state and their low aristocracy representing their separate divided fiefs.
  4. countableuncountableStates based on a system of governance headed by a king or a queen.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.

Similar
government
Similar
kingdom
Narrower
absolute monarchybicycle monarchybicycling monarchycomposite monarchyconstitutional monarchylimited monarchymixed monarchyparliamentary monarchy
Also see
crown

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekμοναρχία
  2. Late Latinmonarchia
  3. Old Frenchmonarchie
  4. Englishmonarchy

From Old French monarchie, from Late Latin monarchia, from Ancient Greek μοναρχία (monarkhía), from μόνος (mónos, “only”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “power, authority”). By surface analysis, mon- (“one, single”) + -archy (“rule, command”).

More words from Old French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans monargie
  • monargieform of government with a hereditary head of state
Ancient Greek μοναρχία
  • μοναρχία (monarkhía)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Arabic مَلِكِيَّة
  • مَلِكِيَّة (malikiyya)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Basque monarkia
  • monarkiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Bengali রাজতন্ত্র
  • রাজতন্ত্র (rajotontro)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Bulgarian мона́рхия
  • мона́рхия (monárhija)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Catalan monarquia
  • monarquiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Chinese Cantonese 君主制, 王政
  • 君主制 (gwan¹ zyu² zai³)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • 王政form of government with a hereditary head of state
Chinese Mandarin 君主制, 王政
  • 君主制 (jūnzhǔzhì)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • 王政 (wángzhèng)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Czech monarchie
  • monarchieform of government with a hereditary head of state
Danish monarki
  • monarkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
Dutch monarchie
  • monarchieform of government with a hereditary head of state
Esperanto monarkio, monarĥio
  • monarkioform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • monarĥioform of government with a hereditary head of state
Estonian monarhia
  • monarhiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Finnish monarkia
  • monarkiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
French monarchie
  • monarchieform of government with a hereditary head of state
German Monarchie
  • Monarchieform of government with a hereditary head of state
Greek μοναρχία
  • μοναρχία (monarchía)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Hebrew מוֹנַרְכְיָה
  • מוֹנַרְכְיָה (monárkhia)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Hindi राजतंत्र, बादशाहत
  • राजतंत्र (rājtantra)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • बादशाहत (bādśāhat)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Hungarian monarchia
  • monarchiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Icelandic konungsríki, konungdæmi
  • konungsríkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • konungdæmiform of government with a hereditary head of state
Indonesian monarki
  • monarkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
Irish monarcacht
  • monarcachtform of government with a hereditary head of state
Italian monarchia
  • monarchiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Japanese 君主制
  • 君主制 (kunshusei)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Korean 군주제
  • 군주제 (gunjuje)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Latvian monarhija
  • monarhijaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Lithuanian monarchija
  • monarchijaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Malay monarki
  • monarkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
Māori arikitanga
  • arikitangaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Northern Kurdish ਬਾਦਸ਼ਾਹੀ
  • ਬਾਦਸ਼ਾਹੀ (bādśāhī)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Norwegian Bokmål monarki, kongedømme
  • monarkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • kongedømmeform of government with a hereditary head of state
Polish monarchia
  • monarchiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Portuguese monarquia
  • monarquiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Romanian monarhie, монархие
  • monarhieform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • монархие (monarhie)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Russian мона́рхия
  • мона́рхия (monárxija)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Scottish Gaelic monarcachd
  • monarcachdform of government with a hereditary head of state
Slovak monarchia
  • monarchiaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Spanish monarquía
  • monarquíaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Swedish monarki
  • monarkiform of government with a hereditary head of state
Tagalog monarkiya
  • monarkiyaform of government with a hereditary head of state
Tamil முடியாட்சி
  • முடியாட்சி (muṭiyāṭci)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Thai ราชาธิปไตย
  • ราชาธิปไตย (raa-chaa-tí-bpà-dtai)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Turkish monarşi, padişahlık
  • monarşiform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • padişahlıkform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • sultanlıkform of government with a hereditary head of state
Ukrainian мона́рхія
  • мона́рхія (monárxija)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Urdu بادْشاہَت, سَلْطَنَت
  • بادْشاہَت (bādśāhat)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • سَلْطَنَت (saltanat)form of government with a hereditary head of state
Vietnamese quân chủ, chế độ quân chủ
  • quân chủform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • chế độ quân chủform of government with a hereditary head of state
  • nền quân chủform of government with a hereditary head of state
Welsh archdeyrnieath
  • archdeyrnieathform of government with a hereditary head of state
Yiddish קיניגרײַך, מאָנאַרכיע
  • קיניגרײַך (kínigraykh)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • מאָנאַרכיע (monárkhye)form of government with a hereditary head of state
  • מלכות (málkhes)form of government with a hereditary head of state

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

nomarchy
Cite this entry
APA

monarchy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarchy

MLA

“monarchy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarchy. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monarchy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monarchy.

Source: monarchy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.