What does "sovereignty" mean?

1. (personal or group autonomy) the right of a person or a specific group to have total control over their own life or choices. 2. (a self-governing state) a territory or nation that is independent and rules itself.

sovereignty

US //ˈsɑvɹənti// UK //sˈɒvəɹˌɪnti// sovereign·ty

1 personal or group autonomy (n.)
C1 Advanced Academic

the right of a person or a specific group to have total control over their own life or choices.

the state of being free from external control; individual or collective autonomy in decision-making.

Example

The movement fights for the sovereignty of indigenous people over their traditional lands.

Example

Philosophers often discuss bodily sovereignty as the fundamental right of an individual to determine what happens to their own physical person.
- coercion
2 a self-governing state (n.)
C2 Proficiency Formal Technical Law

a territory or nation that is independent and rules itself.

a territory under the rule of a sovereign power; an independent or self-governing nation.

Example

The island was recognized as a full sovereignty after the treaty was signed.

Example

The legal dispute centered on whether the region functioned as a functional sovereignty or remained a dependent territory of the empire.
- colony
- protectorate

Origin

PIE 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 from Proto-Indo-European upér (“above, over”)) + -ānus (“suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’, usually denoting a relationship of origin, position, or possession”)). The English word is analysable as sovereign + -ty (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives).