reign
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(rān) 
n.
n.
- Exercise of sovereign power, as by a monarch.
- The period during which a monarch rules.
- Dominance or widespread influence: the reign of reason.
- To exercise sovereign power.
- To hold the title of monarch, but with limited authority.
- To be predominant or prevalent: Panic reigned as the fire spread.
[Middle English reigne, from Old French, from Latin rēgnum, from rēx, rēg-, king.]
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reign
Roget's Thesaurus:
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reign
noun
- The act of exercising controlling power or the condition of being so controlled: command, control, dominance, domination, dominion, mastery, rule, sway. See over/under.
verb
- To exercise the authority of a sovereign: govern, rule. Archaic sway. Idioms: wear thecrownpurple. See over/under.
- To occupy the preeminent position in: dominate, predominate, preponderate, prevail, rule. Idioms: have the ascendancy, reign supreme. See over/under.
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reign
IN BRIEF: The authority or period of dominance; rule. Also: The rule or period of rule of a king, queen, or emperor.
Pain dies quickly, and lets her weary prisoners go; the fiercest agonies have shortest reign.
— William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)
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For other uses, see Reign (disambiguation).
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This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g. Canada, Saudi Arabia, Andorra, Tonga, Belgium) or of a people (KwaZulu-Natal). In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies (e.g. Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Poland) there have been no limits on the duration of a sovereign's reign or incumbency, nor is there a term of office. Thus a reign usually lasts until the monarch dies, unless the monarchy itself is abolished or the monarch abdicates or is deposed.
In elective monarchies, there may be a fixed period of time for the duration of the monarch's tenure in office (e.g. Malaysia).
The term of a reign can be indicated with the abbreviation "r." after a sovereign's name, such as the following:
- George VI, King of the United Kingdom (r. 1936–1952)
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Regnal periods
- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom reigned from 1837 to 1901.
- King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy reigned from 1900 to 1946.
- Pope John XXIII reigned from 1958 to 1963.
- King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great of Thailand reigns from 1946 to present.
A reign can be ended in three ways:
- death
- abdication
- abolition of the office
Abdications
- Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy-Venetia (r. 1835-1848) was abdicated due to his disabilities (feeble-mindedness and epilepsy). His successor, Emperor Franz Josef (r. 1848–1916) reigned for 68 years.
- King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom reigned from January to December 1936 before he abdicated the throne. After his abdication he became known as the Duke of Windsor. No other monarch of the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has ever abdicated, though forced abdications did occur on rare occasions in the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland prior to their merger in 1707.
- Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands reigned from 1890 to 1948, before abdicating in favor of her daughter, Queen Juliana who did herself. Juliana then reigned until 1980 when she abdicated in favor of her daughter, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Abolitions
King Constantine II of Greece reigned from 1963 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy in 1973.
King Humbert II of Italy reigned for only a few weeks in 1946 before the abolition of the Italian Monarchy.
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia reigned from 1894 to 1917 during the Russian Revolution when he was forced to abdicate and the Russian Empire was overthrown.
King Louis XVI of France reigned from the 1770s until the overthrow of the monarchy in 1792 and his execution the following year.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran reigned for more than 37 years (1941–1979) until he fled during the Iranian Revolution, which replaced 2500 years of monarchy with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Shah died the following year and is buried in Cairo.
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Reign
Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - regere, herske
n. - regering, regeringstid
idioms:
- reign of terror rædselsherredømme, terrorregime
- reign supreme (chaos reigned supreme) der herskede vildt kaos
Nederlands (Dutch)
regeren, heersen (vorst), de huidige (b.v. kampioen) zijn, (periode van) bewind
Français (French)
v. intr. - (lit, fig) régner
n. - (lit, fig) règne
idioms:
- reign of terror régime de la terreur
- reign supreme régner en maître absolu
Deutsch (German)
n. - Herrschaft, Regentschaft
v. - herrschen
idioms:
- reign of terror Schreckensherrschaft
- reign supreme souverän herrschen
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βασιλεία, (μτφ.) κράτος, κυριαρχία
v. - βασιλεύω, ηγεμονεύω, δεσπόζω, διέπω, επικρατώ
idioms:
- reign of terror βασίλειο/κράτος του τρόμου
- reign supreme επικρατώ πέρα για πέρα, κυριαρχώ
Italiano (Italian)
regnare, regno
idioms:
- reign of terror regno del terrore
- reign supreme avere il potere assoluto, dominio indiscusso
Português (Portuguese)
n. - reino (m), domínio (m)
v. - reinar, dominar
idioms:
- reign of terror reino do terror
- reign supreme reino supremo
Русский (Russian)
царствовать, царить, царствование, царство
idioms:
- reign of terror власть путем террора
- reign supreme иметь абсолютную власть
Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - reinar
n. - reinado, dominio, predominio, reino
idioms:
- reign of terror régimen de terror, reino del terror
- reign supreme elemento principal o preponderante
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - regim
v. - regera
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
君临, 支配, 统治, 盛行, 占优势, 在位期间, 统治时期
idioms:
- reign of terror 恐怖统治
- reign supreme 主宰, 称雄, 享有至高无上的权威
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 君臨, 支配, 統治, 盛行, 佔優勢
n. - 統治, 在位期間, 統治時期, 支配
idioms:
- reign of terror 恐怖統治
- reign supreme 主宰, 稱雄, 享有至高無上的權威
한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 군림하다, 지배하다, 크게 유행하다
n. - 치세 , 통치, 통치권
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 治世, 統治, 支配, 勢力範囲
v. - 君臨する, 支配する, 勢力をふるう
idioms:
- reign of terror 恐怖時代
- reign supreme 君臨する
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) مملكه, العهد, سلطه (فعل) يحكم, يسود
עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - שרר, שלט, מלך
n. - שלטון
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