different between sovereignty vs behest

English

Alternative forms

• soveraigntie (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English sovereynte, from Anglo-Norman sovereyneté, from Old French souveraineté, from soverain.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?v.??n.ti/, /?s?v.??n.ti/

Noun

sovereignty (countable and uncountable, plural sovereignties)

1. Of a polity: the state of making laws and controlling resources without the coercion of other nations.

   Synonyms: autarchy, independence, nationality, nationhood

   • 2019, Manuel Valls, What have Britain and Catalonia got in common? Delusions of independence in the Guardian

     In today’s interconnected economies and societies, a formal independence is the opposite of gaining real sovereignty and control. This is because the excluded party would be absent from the table when decisions are made, unable to participate as choices are taken that, sooner or later, will affect them.

2. Of a ruler: supreme authority over all things.
3. Of a person: the liberty to decide one's thoughts and actions.

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English biheste, from Old English beh?s (“vow, promise”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“be-”), *haisiz (“command”), from *haitan? (“to command”). Final -t by analogy with other similar words in -t. Related to Old English beh?tan (“to command, promise”), Middle Low German beheit, beh?t (“a promise”). Compare also hest (“command”), hight.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /bi?h?st/

Noun

behest (plural behests)

1. A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request; now usually in the phrase at the behest of. [from 12th c.]
   • 2009, “What a waste”, The Economist, 15 Oct 2009:

     the House of Representatives will try to water down even this feeble effort at the behest of the unions whose members enjoy some of the most lavish policies.

   • 2011, Owen Gibson, The Guardian, 24 Mar 2011:

     The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is to meet with the BBC director general, Mark Thompson, at the behest of the Premier League in a bid to resolve their long-running feud.

2. (obsolete) A vow; a promise.
   • c. 1440, Markaryte Paston, letter to John Paston

     The time is come that I should send it her, if I keep the behest that I have made.

Translations

Verb

behest (third-person singular simple present behests, present participle behesting, simple past and past participle behested)

1. (obsolete) To promise; vow.

Anagrams

• Bethes, Thebes, Thêbes, bethes, thebes