Dictionary

overking en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌkɪŋ/
• (UK) audio

Etymology

From Middle English oferrking, over-king. By surface analysis, over- + king.

Meanings

1. A king who has sovereignty over inferior kings or ruling princes; a ruler of an overkingdom; a king that is truly superior or supreme; an emperor.
   • the King of Connaught, who was recognized as overking of the island by the rest of the tribe[…] 1874, John Richard Green, A Short History of the English People:
   • The latter asked the aid of Cond the overking, who took up their cause, and a fierce war arose, in which Cond was beaten and compelled to divide Ireland with his rival. 1908, Henry Smith Williams, Scotland, Ireland, England since 1792, Hooper & Jackson, →ISBN, page 335:
   • The difference between a dux bellorum and an overking is not clear, and it may be that the two concepts were elided into a single role. 2000, Don Nardo, Rodney Castleden, King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend, Routledge, →ISBN, page 119:
   • "They have given me five-and-twenty overkings," protested John, and he at once turned to seek a way of evasion. 1907, Katharine Coman, Elizabeth Kimball Kendall, A History of England, for High Schools and Academies, The Macmillan Company, page 122:
   • Celtic law, however, explicitly specified that any member of a tribe, including overkings/overqueens of provinces and Druid high priests/priestesses, could be stripped of their legal rights if they failed to execute the legal obligations of their stations. 1996, Jack George Thompson, Women in Celtic Law and Culture, Edwin Mellen Press, →ISBN, page 39:

Forms

Translations (4)

id adiraja (a superior or supreme king) · de Oberkönig (a superior or supreme king) · la superrex (a superior or supreme king) · ja 大王 (a superior or supreme king)