---
title: sceptre — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sceptre» in the school dictionary: A sceptre is a decorated rod or staff carried by a king or queen at ceremonies as a sign of their power. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sceptre/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/) / sceptre

# sceptre

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** sceptre, king, queen, our, whoever, magic sceptre · **What happens:** decorate, be, carry, sign, mean, hold · **To what, where:** decorated rod, staff, ceremonies, power, royal power, sceptre

<!-- .vabout -->
«sceptre» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sceptre in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sceptre.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sceptre is a decorated rod or staff carried by a king or queen at ceremonies as a sign of their power.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:m1:1
# text = A sceptre is a decorated rod or staff carried by a king or queen at ceremonies as a sign of their power.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	decorated	decorate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
6	rod	rod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	staff	staff	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	carried	carry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	queen	queen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
15	at	at	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	ceremonies	ceremony	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
17	as	as	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	22	nmod:poss	_	_
22	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **decorate** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn illustrate-25.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | a sceptre | a decorated rod or staff |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **carry** | participle |  | staff *not said here* |  | ceremonies |  | by a king or queen; as a sign of ceremonies's power | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **sign** |  |  | ceremonies's power |  |  |  |  | nom sign «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sceptre can also mean royal power itself.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:m2:1
# text = The sceptre can also mean royal power itself.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	royal	royal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	7	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | the sceptre | royal power  sceptre |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent power=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The king held the sceptre in his right hand.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x1:1
# text = The king held the sceptre in his right hand.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | the king | the sceptre |  | king's right hand |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent sceptre=Theme in hand=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crown, orb and sceptre were kept in the Tower of London.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x2:1
# text = The crown, orb and sceptre were kept in the Tower of London.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crown	crown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	orb	orb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	kept	keep	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	Tower	Tower	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	London	London	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past · passive |  | the crown and orb and sceptre |  | the Tower of London |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme in tower=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(Bible) The king held out his gold sceptre to Queen Esther.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x3:1
# text = (Bible) The king held out his gold sceptre to Queen Esther.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
6	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:agent	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Queen	Queen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
13	Esther	Esther	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold out** | participle |  | the king *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The queen in our play had a sceptre made of a painted stick.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x4:1
# text = The queen in our play had a sceptre made of a painted stick.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	queen	queen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	painted	paint	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	amod	_	_
13	stick	stick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the queen in our play | a sceptre |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sceptre=Patient |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | a sceptre *not said here* |  |  |  | of a painted stick | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 3 | **paint** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **play** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom play «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sceptre had a huge diamond at the top.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x5:1
# text = The sceptre had a huge diamond at the top.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	diamond	diamond	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the sceptre | a huge diamond |  | the top |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent diamond=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, whoever held the magic sceptre ruled the land.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x6:1
# text = In the story, whoever held the magic sceptre ruled the land.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	whoever	whoever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	magic	magic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	ruled	rule	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | whoever |  |  | the story |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **rule** | past | the magic sceptre | the land |  |  |  |  | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent land=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the one Omar had chosen lay a little gold crown and sceptre on a velvet cushion.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptre:x7:1
# text = In the one Omar had chosen lay a little gold crown and sceptre on a velvet cushion.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
4	Omar	Omar	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	chosen	choose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	lay	lay	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
9	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
10	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	crown	crown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	velvet	velvet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	cushion	cushion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **choose** | past · perfect | Omar | the one *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |
| 2 | **lay** | present |  | a little gold crown and sceptre |  | a velvet cushion |  | in the one | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent crown=Theme in one=Destination |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [scepticism](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/)
- next →: [schedule](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/schedule/)
- ↑ back to [S in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/)