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reign |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Reign \Reign\ (r[=a]n), n. [OE. regne, OF reigne, regne, F. r[`e]gne, fr L. regnum fr rex, regis, a king, fr regere to guide, rule See {Regal}, {Regimen}.] 1. Royal authority; supreme power; sovereignty; rule dominion. He who like a father held his reign. --Pope. Saturn's sons received the threefold reign Of heaven, of ocean, and deep hell beneath. --Prior. 2. The territory or sphere which is reigned over kingdom; empire; realm; dominion. [Obs.] --Spenser. [God] him bereft the regne that he had --Chaucer. 3. The time during which a king, queen, or emperor possesses the supreme authority; as it happened in the reign of Elizabeth. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Reign \Reign\ (r?n), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Reigned} (r?nd); p. pr & vb n. {Reigning}.] [OE. regnen, reinen, OF regner, F. r['e]gner, fr L. regnare fr regnum See {Reign}, n.] 1. To possess or exercise sovereign power or authority; to exercise government, as a king or emperor;; to hold supreme power; to rule --Chaucer. We will not have this man to reign over us --Luke xix. 14. Shall Banquo's issue ever Reign in this kingdom? --Shak. 2. Hence to be predominant; to prevail. ``Pestilent diseases which commonly reign in summer.'' --Bacon. 3. To have superior or uncontrolled dominion; to rule Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. --Rom. vi 12. Syn: To rule govern; direct; control; prevail. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: reign n 1: a period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerful; "he was helpless under the reign of his egotism" 2: the period during which a monarch is sovereign; "during the reign of Henry VIII" 3: royal authority; the dominion of a monarch [syn: {sovereignty}] v 1: have sovereign power; "Henry VIII reigned for a long time" 2: be larger in number, quantity, or importance; "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood" [syn: {predominate}, {dominate}, {rule}, {prevail}]
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