monarchy

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)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.”

   “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?”

2. (countable, uncountable)The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.

   “What scourge for perjury / Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?”

3. (countable, uncountable)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.
4. (countable, uncountable)States based on a system of governance headed by a king or a queen.