heptarchy

[ hep-tahr-kee ]

noun

, plural hep·tar·chies.

1. (often initial capital letter) the seven principal concurrent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms supposed to have existed in the 7th and 8th centuries.
2. government by seven persons.
3. an allied group of seven states or kingdoms, each under its own ruler.

heptarchy

/ ˈhɛptɑːkɪ /

noun

1. government by seven rulers
2. a state divided into seven regions each under its own ruler
3. 1. the seven kingdoms into which Anglo-Saxon England is thought to have been divided from about the 7th to the 9th centuries ad : Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria
   2. the period when this grouping existed

Derived Forms

• ˈheptarch, noun
• hepˈtarchic, adjective

Other Words From

• heptarch heptar·chist noun
• hep·tarchic hep·tarchi·cal hep·tarchal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of heptarchy¹

First recorded in 1570–80; hept- ( def ) + -archy