viceroy

/ˌvaɪsˈrɔɪ/

/ˈvaɪsrɔɪ/

Other forms: viceroys

A viceroy is appointed by a king to be in charge of a country or province.

When a country is ruled by a monarch — a king or queen — and controls colonies or provinces, the monarch can’t govern all those remote areas personally. That's where a viceroy comes in. The king or queen appoints a representative to rule over the colony or province. This viceroy is the most powerful person in this region, kind of like a king or president. The difference is that the viceroy has to answer to the monarch, his boss back in the mother country.

Definitions of viceroy

1. noun

   governor of a country or province who rules as the representative of his or her king or sovereign
   synonyms: vicereine

   types:

   exarch

   a viceroy who governed a large province in the Roman Empire

   Khedive

   one of the Turkish viceroys who ruled Egypt between 1867 and 1914

   type of:

   governor

   the head of a state government
2. noun

   showy American butterfly resembling the monarch but smaller
   synonyms: Limenitis archippus

   type of:

   brush-footed butterfly, four-footed butterfly, nymphalid, nymphalid butterfly

   medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast