Sceptre

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛptə/

Definitions

1. A decorative rod often used in formal ceremonies signifies authority and power within a kingdom or community
2. A staff that embodies royal authority is commonly associated with leadership roles in various traditions
3. A decorated staff carried as a sign of royal or imperial power in ceremonial events

Etymology: The sceptre began as a walking stick. Its Ancient Greek ancestor, "skêptron", meant simply "staff" or "stick", and it came from a verb, "skēptō", meaning "to prop up" or "to lean upon a staff". The image is of someone leaning on a support, and the object was named for that act of leaning rather than for any regal function. The step from a common stick to a symbol of power happened through Latin, where "scēptrum" kept the same basic sense, and it was the staff of rulers and officials that gave the word its later prestige. English took the word through Old French, and by the Middle English period it was already used for the royal baton carried at coronations and in court ceremony. Its meaning narrowed as the object did, so that the word now refers almost exclusively to the ornamented rod held by a monarch.

Synonyms: staff, rod, scepter, wand, authority

Antonyms: powerlessness, subordination