Other forms: sceptres
A sceptre is the ornamented rod a monarch holds. The royal sceptre, hold the sceptre, sceptre and orb.
It is a symbol of authority carried at coronations, and in Britain the sovereign's sceptre with cross holds the Cullinan I diamond, the largest clear cut diamond there is. Sceptre and orb are the usual pair. Figuratively, the sceptre stands for royal power itself. Note the spelling: sceptre is British and scepter American; and that the word means simply a staff, from the Greek.
1nounsceptreThe ornamented rod a monarch holds.
“The queen held the golden sceptre in her right hand during the ceremony.”
sceptre is a symbol of authority.
Also accepted in games: scepter
Greek skeptron means a staff to lean on, from skeptein, to prop. The rod of office began as something to lean on and became something to hold up.
Proto-Indo-European
*skeh₂p-
Ancient Greek
σκῆπτρον — staff, stick, baton
Latin
scēptrum
Old French
sceptre
Middle English
septre
English, today
sceptre
Built from
From Middle English septre, sceptre, from Old French sceptre, from Latin scēptrum, from Ancient Greek σκῆπτρον (“staff, stick, baton”), from σκήπτω (“to prop, to support, to lean upon a staff”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA