throne

¹throne

noun \ˈthrōn\

Definition of THRONE

1

a : the chair of state of a sovereign or high dignitary (as a bishop)

b : the seat of a deity

2

: royal power and dignity : sovereignty

3

plural : an order of angels — see celestial hierarchy

Examples of THRONE

1. The king sat on his throne.
2. He is next in line for the throne.
3. the heir to the throne

Origin of THRONE

Middle English trone, throne, from Anglo-French trone, from Latin thronus, from Greek thronos — more at firm

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with THRONE

blown, bone, clone, cone, crone, drone, flown, groan, grown, hone, known, loan, lone, moan, Mon, none, own, phone, pone, prone, Rhône, roan, Saône, scone, sone, stone, tone, zone

²throne

verb

thronedthron·ing

Definition of THRONE

transitive verb

1

: to seat on a throne

2

: to invest with kingly rank or power

intransitive verb

1

: to sit on a throne

2

: to hold kingly power

First Known Use of THRONE

14th century

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

throne

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

So-called throne of King Dagobert I, bronze, from the treasury of Saint-Denis, Paris, probably 8th …—Courtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Chair of state set on a dais and often surmounted by a canopy, representing the power of the dignitary who sits on it and sometimes conferring that power. In Greek history, thrones were identified as seats of the gods; soon the meaning of the word included the symbolic seats of those who held religious or secular power, a meaning common to virtually all cultures. The oldest surviving throne was built into the walls of Knossos (c. 1800 BC). Probably the most magnificent was the jewel-studded Peacock Throne of the rulers of Delhi, stolen from India by Persia in 1739 and thereafter the symbol of the Persian/Iranian monarchy. In the late 17th and 18th century, thrones were often made of silver, but later versions tend to be of gilded wood.