sceptre

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See also: Sceptre

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Pedro II holding a sceptre.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English septre, sceptre, from Old French sceptre, from Latin scēptrum, from Ancient Greek σκῆπτρον (skêptron, staff, stick, baton), from σκήπτω (skḗptō, to prop, to support, to lean upon a staff).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sceptre (plural sceptres)

  1. (British spelling) An ornamental staff held by a ruling monarch as a symbol of power.
    Synonyms: golden wand, royal wand
    • 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 11:
      “Divine receptacle of excellence, let it not be deemed impertinent, or deviating from the rules of propriety, if I propound one queſtion which now labours in my breaſt; aſſuring me firſt, you will not let the ſceptre of true judgment depart from your right hand.”
    • 1791, Homer, “[The Iliad.] Book I.”, in W[illiam] Cowper, transl., The Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, Translated into Blank Verse, [], volume I, London: [] J[oseph] Johnson, [], →OCLC, page 3:
      To the fleet he came / Bearing rich ranſom glorious to redeem / His daughter, and his hands charged with the wreath / And golden ſceptre of the God shaft-arm’d.
    • 1891, Oscar Wilde, “The Young King”, in A House of Pomegranates, London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine & Co [], →OCLC, page 6:
      But what had occupied him most was the robe he was to wear at his coronation, the robe of tissued gold, and the ruby-studded crown, and the sceptre with its rows and rings of pearls.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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sceptre (third-person singular simple present sceptres, present participle sceptring, simple past and past participle sceptred)

  1. To give a sceptre to.
    • 1713, Thomas Tickell, On the Prospect of Peace:
      To Britain's queen the sceptred suppliant bends.
  2. (figurative) To invest with royal power.

Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin scēptrum, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek σκῆπτρον (skêptron).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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sceptre m (plural sceptres)

  1. sceptre

Further reading

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