monarch

/ˈmɑnɑrk/

/ˈmɒnɑk/

Other forms: monarchs

If you think the Queen of England is just the coolest thing ever, then you like monarchs: hereditary rulers of countries usually known as king or queen.

You might think your principal rules with absolute power, but that's not really true: there's a school board and an administration and she can't really control everything. But a monarch can. Monarch comes from the Greek mono, "one," and archon, "ruler." Many modern monarchies actually have parliaments and constitutions, leaving the monarch more symbolic than powerful. A monarch is also a particularly royal looking butterfly with orange wings and black and white spots.

Definitions of monarch

1. noun

   a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right
   synonyms: crowned head, sovereign

   types:

   Capetian

   a member of the Capetian dynasty

   Carlovingian, Carolingian

   a member of the Carolingian dynasty

   czar, tsar, tzar

   a male monarch or emperor (especially of Russia prior to 1917)

   emperor

   the male ruler of an empire

   Rex, king, male monarch

   a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

   Merovingian

   a member of the Merovingian dynasty

   Shah, Shah of Iran, shah

   title for the former hereditary monarch of Iran

   empress

   a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor

   Holy Roman Emperor

   sovereign of the Holy Roman Empire

   Kaiser, kaiser

   the title of the Holy Roman Emperors or the emperors of Austria or of Germany until 1918

   King of England, King of Great Britain

   the sovereign ruler of England

   King of France

   the sovereign ruler of France

   King of the Germans

   the sovereign ruler of the Germans

   mikado, tenno

   the emperor of Japan; when regarded as a religious leader the emperor is called tenno

   Emperor of Rome, Roman Emperor

   sovereign of the Roman Empire

   Romanoff, Romanov

   a member of the imperial family that ruled Russia

   type of:

   chief of state, head of state

   the chief public representative of a country who may also be the head of government

   ruler, swayer

   a person who rules or commands
2. noun

   large migratory American butterfly having deep orange wings with black and white markings; the larvae feed on milkweed
   synonyms: Danaus plexippus, milkweed butterfly, monarch butterfly

   type of:

   danaid, danaid butterfly

   large tropical butterfly with degenerate forelegs and an unpleasant taste