English → Latin
“monarch” in Latin
rēxking, ruler; despot, tyrant (during the time of the Republic when there were no kings and executive power was usually diprī̆ncepsfirst, foremost; chief, distinguishedimperōto command, give orders to, impose, demand; to rule, governdominusmaster, owner, possessor, proprietor; owner of a residence; master of his servants and slaves; lord, rulertyrannusruler, monarch; tyrant, despotAugustusAugustan (pertaining to the Emperor Augustus); imperial, royal; of August, the sixth month of the Roman calendar
The English word monarch itself goes back to Latin monarcha.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
monarch
rex (a king): princeps (a prince; ☞ post-Augustan): imperator, Caes., Augustus (of the tunes of the emperors): dominus (general term, a sovereign, ruler): tyrannus (one who has gained absolute power in a state previously free): Or by circumlocution, in order to express more clearly the idea of “absolute monarch,” qui solus regnat, qui unus consilio et cura, gubernat civitatem, penes quem est summa rerum omnium (= rex): qui solus imperio potitus est (= tyrannus): to be a monarch, regnare; solum regnare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for monarch?
- The usual Latin words for “monarch” are rēx, prī̆nceps, imperō; also dominus, tyrannus, Augustus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.