See Also: monarch(medicine)
monarch(dictionary)
monarch(1)(dictionary)
monarch(2)(dictionary)
Monarch - Poker(gambling)
Merry Monarch, the(dictionary)
monarch butterfly(encyclopedia)
Monarch Airlines(tourism)
MONARCH Resources Limited(finance)
Monarch Airlines code(tourism)

monarch(2) (iou)



monarch noun & verb. LME.
[Old & mod. French monarque or late Latin monarcha from Greek monarkhes, more freq. monarkhos, from monos alone: see MONO-, -ARCH.]
A. noun.
Orig., a sole and absolute ruler of a State. Later also, any ruler bearing the title of king, queen, emperor, empress, or the equivalent. LME.
the Merry Monarch: see MERRY adjective.
Shakespeare Merchant of Venice The quality of mercy..becomes The throned monarch better than his crown. R. Scruton In the figure of the monarch there is..all the majesty of state.
transf. & fig. A person or thing of great power or pre-eminence in a particular sphere. L16.
W. Cowper I am monarch of all I survey. Byron Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains.
More fully monarch butterfly. A large migratory orange and black danaid butterfly, Danaus plexippus, native to the Americas and known as a vagrant in western Europe. Also called milkweed butterfly. L19.
= monarch flycatcher below. M20.
Comb.: monarch butterfly: see sense 3 above; monarch flycatcher a flycatcher of the Old World family Monarchidae, esp. one of the genus Monarcha.
b. verb intrans. & trans. (with it). Behave like a monarch, act autocratically. rare. E17.
monarchess noun (now rare) a female monarch L16.