From the Oxford English Dictionary (I condensed it EMPHASIS ADDED)

sovereign (_______), n. and a. Forms: (see below). [a. OF. soverain, souverein, etc. (mod.F. souverain), = It. sovrano (see sovran), Sp. and Pg. soberano:---pop.L. *superanus, f. super above. Cf. MDu. sov(e)rein, souverein, soferein.]
A. Forms.d. 6 suffaryng; 6_ suffering. Now only dial., or slang.
B. Signification.
I. n. 1. One who has supremacy or rank above, or authority over, others; a superior; a ruler, governor, lord, or master (of persons, etc.). Freq. applied to the Deity in relation to created things.
In later use suggestive of sense 2 a.
b. A husband in relation to his wife. Obs. _
c. A person or thing which excels or surpasses others of the kind. Now rare.
d. A free citizen or voter of America. U.S. Obs. [ note: this abbreviation means OBSCURE ...] Examples of use..
1846 in Indiana Hist. Soc. Publ. (1905) III. 412 Thousands of children in our state have not received even the trifling aid which these [public] funds afford._ This fact illustrates the situation of thousands of the future sovereigns of our beloved State.
1861 Harpers' Mag. Mar. 570/1 Deacon E---- lived out West._ The _sovereigns' of that section met in caucus to appoint delegates to a County Convention.
1869 _Mark Twain' Innoc. Abr. xi. 110, I am a free-born sovereign, sir, an American.
2. spec. a. The => recognized <= supreme ruler of a people or country under monarchical government; a monarch; a king or queen.

Sovereign - The supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which any independent state is governed; supreme political authority; the supreme will; paramount control of the constitution and frame of government and its administration; the self-sufficient source of political power, from which all specific political powers are derived; the international independence of a state, combined with the right and power of regulating its internal affairs without foreign dictation; also a political society, or state, which is sovereign and independent.
The power to do everything in a state without accountability,-to make laws, to execute and to apply them, to impose and collect taxes and levy contributions, to make war or peace, to form treaties of alliance or of commerce with foreign nations, and the like.

Sovereignty in government is that public authority which directs or orders what is to be done by each member associated in relation to the end of the association. It is the supreme power by which any citizen is governed and is the person or body of persons in the state to whom there is politically no superior. The necessary existence of the state and that right and power which necessarily follow is "sovereignty."
By "sovereignty" in its largest sense is meant supreme, absolute, uncontrollable power, the absolute right to govern. The word which by itself comes nearest to being the definition of "sovereignty" is will or volition as applied to political affairs. City of Bisbee v. Cochise County, 52 Ariz. 1, 78 P.2d 982, 986.

Bouviers Law Dictionary 1856 Edition

SOURCES OF THE LAW. By this expression is understood the authority from which the laws derive their force. {snip}
3d. The principles of the Roman law, being generally founded in superior wisdom, have insinuated themselves into every part of the law. Many of the refined rules which now adorn the common law appear there without any acknowledgment of their paternity, and it is at this source that some judges dipt to get the wisdom which adorns their judgments. The proceedings of the courts of equity and many of the admirable distinctions which manifest their wisdom are derived from this source. To this fountain of wisdom the courts of admiralty owe most of the law which governs in admiralty cases.
{snip}

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