Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MON'ARCH, n. [It. and Sp. monarca; Fr. monarque; Gr. μοναρχης; μονος, sole, and αρχος, a chief.]

1. The prince or ruler of a nation, who exercises all the powers of government without control, or who is vested with absolute sovereign power; an emperor, king or prince invested with an unlimited power. This is the strict sense of the word.
2. A king or prince, the supreme magistrate of a nation, whose powers are in some respects limited by the constitution of the government. Thus we call the king of Great Britain a monarch, although he can make no law without the consent of parliament.
3. He or that which is superior to others of the same kind; as, an oak is called the monarch of the forest; a lion, the monarch of wild beasts.
4. One that presides; president; as, Bacchus, monarch of the vine. Shak.