# monarchy
## English
### Alternative forms

* monarchie (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Old French monarchie, from Late Latin monarchia, from Ancient Greek μοναρχία (monarkhía), from μόνος (mónos, “only”) + ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “power, authority”). By surface analysis, mon- (“one, single”) +‎ -archy (“rule, command”).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈmɒnəki/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈmɑnɚki/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: mon‧ar‧chy

### Noun

monarchy (countable and uncountable, plural monarchies)
* A government in which sovereignty is embodied within a single, today usually hereditary head of state (whether as a figurehead or as a powerful ruler).
    An absolute monarchy is a monarchy where the monarch is legally the ultimate authority in all temporal matters.
    A constitutional monarchy is a monarchy in which the monarch's power is legally constrained, ranging from where minor concessions have been made to appease certain factions to where the monarch is a figurehead with all real power in the hands of a legislative body.
** c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i:He that with ſhepheards and a litle ſpoyle, Durſt in diſdaine of wrong and tyrannie, Defend his freedome gainſt a Monarchie: What will he doe ſupported by a king?
* The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.
** c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:What scourge for perjury / Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?
* A form of government where sovereignty is embodied by a single ruler in a state and his high aristocracy representing their separate divided lands within the state and their low aristocracy representing their separate divided fiefs.
* States based on a system of governance headed by a king or a queen.

#### Usage notes

Historically refers to a wide variety of systems with a single, nominally absolute ruler (compare autocracy, dictatorship), today primarily refers to and connotes a traditional, hereditary position, often with mainly symbolic power. Typically used of rulers who use the terms king/queen or emperor/empress.

#### Synonyms

* (rule): See Thesaurus:government
* (state): kingdom

#### Hyponyms

* absolute monarchy
* bicycle monarchy
* bicycling monarchy
* composite monarchy
* constitutional monarchy
* limited monarchy
* mixed monarchy
* parliamentary monarchy

#### Coordinate terms

* See Thesaurus:government

#### Derived terms

* absolute monarchy
* bicycle monarchy
* bicycling monarchy
* composite monarchy
* constitutional monarchy
* limited monarchy
* mixed monarchy
* parliamentary monarchy

#### Related terms

* monarch
* monarchic

#### Translations
### See also

* Category:en:Monarchy

### Anagrams

* nomarchy

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɔˈnar.xɘ/
* Rhymes: -arxɘ
* Syllabification: mo‧nar‧chy

### Noun

monarchy
* genitive singular of monarcha