Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Monarch
/ˈmɑːnərk/noun
A king, queen or emperor who reigns as head of state.
The Greek roots
μόνος
mónos
alone, single
ἄρχειν
árchein
to rule, to lead
Literally: “sole ruler”
The story of the word
μοναρχία sat neutrally beside oligarchy and democracy in Greek political writing, three ways of counting how many people rule. Herodotus stages a debate among Persians about which is best, and monarchy wins on efficiency. English took the noun in the mid-fifteenth century. The butterfly acquired the name in the nineteenth century, one account crediting William of Orange, though nobody has ever proved it.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 15th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
monopolyanarchyhierarchymonologue
In a sentence
The monarch signs what parliament sends and has done for three hundred years.