Sovereign vs. King — What's the Difference?

Sovereign is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French souverain, which is ultimately derived from the Latin word superānus, meaning "above".

King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.

A supreme ruler, especially a monarch

A male sovereign.

A former British gold coin worth one pound sterling, now only minted for commemorative purposes.

One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere

Possessing supreme or ultimate power

A man chosen as the winner of a contest or the honorary head of an event

Very good or effective

Abbr. K A playing card bearing the figure of a king, ranking above a queen.

A king, queen, or other noble person who serves as chief of state; a ruler or monarch.

Abbr. K The principal chess piece, which can move one square in any direction and must be protected against checkmate.

A national governing council or committee.

A piece in checkers that has been moved to the last row on the opponent's side of the board and been crowned, thus becoming free to move both forward and backward.

A nation that governs territory outside its borders.

Kings(used with a sing. verb) See Table at Bible.

A gold coin formerly used in Great Britain.

A king-size bed.

Self-governing; independent

Principal or chief, as in size or importance.

Having supreme rank or power

Of or relating to a king-size bed

Paramount; supreme

To make (a piece in checkers) into a king; crown.

Of superlative strength or efficacy

A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy. If it is an absolute monarchy, then he is the supreme ruler of his nation.

Unmitigated

A powerful or majorly influential person.

Exercising power of rule.

Something that has a preeminent position.

Exceptional in quality.

A component of certain games.

Extremely potent or effective (of a medicine, remedy etc.).

(chess) The principal chess piece, that players seek to threaten with unavoidable capture to result in a victory by checkmate. It is often the tallest piece, with a symbolic crown with a cross at the top.

Having supreme, ultimate power.

(card games) A playing card with the letter "K" and the image of a king on it, the thirteenth card in a given suit.

Princely; royal.

A checker (a piece of checkers/draughts) that reached the farthest row forward, thus becoming crowned (either by turning it upside-down, or by stacking another checker on it) and gaining more freedom of movement.

Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.

The central pin or skittle in bowling games.

A monarch; the ruler of a country.

A king skin.

One who is not a subject to a ruler or nation.

A male dragonfly; a drake.

A gold coin of the United Kingdom, with a nominal value of one pound sterling but in practice used as a bullion coin.

A king-sized bed.

A former Australian gold coin, minted from 1855–1931, of one pound value.

The monarch with the most power and authority in a monarchy, regardless of sex.

A very large champagne bottle with the capacity of about 25 liters, equivalent to 3 standard bottles.

(graph theory) A vertex in a directed graph which can reach every other vertex via a path with a length of at most 2.

Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalini, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy.

To crown king, to make (a person) king.

A large, garish ring; a sovereign ring.

To rule over as king.

(transitive) To rule over as a sovereign.

To perform the duties of a king.

Supreme or highest in power; superior to all others; chief; as, our sovereign prince.

To assume or pretend preeminence (over); to lord it over.

Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion.

To promote a piece of draughts/checkers that has traversed the board to the opposite side, that piece subsequently being permitted to move backwards as well as forwards.

Princely; royal.

To dress and perform as a drag king.

Predominant; greatest; utmost; paramount.

A Chinese musical instrument, consisting of resonant stones or metal plates, arranged according to their tones in a frame of wood, and struck with a hammer.

Efficacious in the highest degree; effectual; controlling; as, a sovereign remedy.

A chief ruler; a sovereign; one invested with supreme authority over a nation, country, or tribe, usually by hereditary succession; a monarch; a prince.

The person, body, or state in which independent and supreme authority is vested; especially, in a monarchy, a king, queen, or emperor.

One who, or that which, holds a supreme position or rank; a chief among competitors; as, a railroad king; a money king; the king of the lobby; the king of beasts.

A gold coin of Great Britain, on which an effigy of the head of the reigning king or queen is stamped, valued at one pound sterling, or about $4.86.

A playing card having the picture of a king{1}; as, the king of diamonds.

Any butterfly of the tribe Nymphalidi, or genus Basilarchia, as the ursula and the viceroy.

The chief piece in the game of chess.

A nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right

A crowned man in the game of draughts.

Of political bodies;

The title of two historical books in the Old Testament.

Greatest in status or authority or power;

To supply with a king; to make a king of; to raise to royalty.

A male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

A competitor who holds a preeminent position

A very wealthy or powerful businessman;

Preeminence in a particular category or group or field;

United States woman tennis player (born in 1943)

United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925)

United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968)

A checker that has been moved to the opponent's first row where it is promoted to a piece that is free to move either forward or backward

One of the four playing cards in a deck bearing the picture of a king

(chess) the weakest but the most important piece