Mon"arch , a. Superior to others; preëminent; supreme; ruling. "Monarch
savage." Pope.
Mon"arch (?), n. [F. monarque, L. monarcha,
fr. Gr. &?;, &?;; mo`nos alone + &?; to be first, rule, govern. See Archi-.]
1. A sole or supreme ruler; a sovereign; the highest ruler; an emperor, king, queen, prince, or chief.
He who reigns
Monarch in heaven, . . . upheld by old repute.
Milton.
2. One superior to all others of the same kind; as, an oak is called the monarch of the forest.
3. A patron deity or presiding genius.
Come, thou,
monarch of the vine,
Plumpy Bacchus.
Shak. 4. (Zoöl.) A very large red and black
butterfly (Danais Plexippus); -- called
also milkweed butterfly.
Hear it pronounced