Thread: Sovereign specific

I've stumbled upon this term (sovereign specific) and I wonder what it means.
I've been unable to find anything which actually describes its meaning. By context I can only guess that this means 'universal way' or 'panacea'. Is it so?

Well, you have the context and don't want to share it with us, so how can we know for sure? Maybe in your context this phrase is used in the meaning you've indicated. However, I believe its normal meaning is different from, if not exactly opposite to "panacea": a sovereign specific is a very effective remedy for a specific disease, condition, or symptom.

Specific as a term for a remedy is rather antiquated. From OED:
(first is adjective)

"3. a. Med. Of remedies, etc.: Specially or exclusively efficacious for, or acting upon, a particular ailment or part of the body. 1677 W. HARRIS tr. Lemery's Chym. I. xvi. 195 It is esteemed to be specifick for malignant Diseases. 1680-90 TEMPLE Ess. Health & Long Life Wks. 1720 I. 285 Garlick..I believe is..a Specifick Remedy of the Gout. 1704 J. HARRIS Lex. Techn. I. s.v., Physitians mention in their Books three kinds of Specifick Medicines. 1778 R. JAMES Diss. Fevers (ed. : 80 Little can be said in favour of specific medicines, but what is equally applicable to specific methods of cure. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 795 The internal administration of specific remedies."

(second is noun)
"B. n. 1. a. A specific remedy. (See A. 3a.)
1661 EVELYN Fumifugium 8, I doe assent that both Lime and Sulphur are in some affections Specifics for the lungs. 1671 SALMON Syn. Med. III. xxii. 427 Elder-tree..is a specific for the cure of the Dropsie. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. VI. 170 Specificks for Fevers seem to have place chiefly in Agues. 1732 ARBUTHNOT Rules of Diet in Aliments, etc. I. 429 If there be a Specifick in Aliment it is certainly Whey. 1779 JOHNSON Lett. (178: II. 64 How did you light on your specifick for the tooth-ach? 1843 R. J. GRAVES Syst. Clin. Med. xxvii. 351 All specifics lead to a false system of therapeutics. 1873 SPENCER Study Sociol. i. (1877) 20 Always you find among people in proportion as they are ignorant, a belief in specifics."


In this context, 'sovereign specific' would mean rather broad powers of amelioration. A 'specific' that rules broadly over diseases is the sense, rather than a curative for a specific disease.


This reminds me of some ancient herbals. For example, evening primrose became known as “King’s Cure-All” because of its' supposed broad curative action on skin diseases.

The term 'sovereign specific' appears in Charles Dickens', (1812–1870). David Copperfield. .... Sometimes, to make it a more sovereign specific, he was so kind as to squeeze orange juice into it...

I would see that term as more general... that it is ANYTHING to do with a specific area or sovereignty. It could be finance, food, medical, power or control...

The input from the global analysts is then used by the credit analyst to fortify his/her opinion on the credit as well as to determine the overall relative value of the credit assuming an appropriate compensation level for any sovereign-specific risks.

Originally Posted by David Copperfield

Sometimes, to make it a more sovereign specific, he was so kind as to squeeze orange juice into it, or to stir it up with ginger, or dissolve a peppermint drop in it; and although I cannot assert that the flavour was improved by these experiments, or that it was exactly the compound one would have chosen for a stomachic, the last thing at night and the first thing in the morning, I drank it gratefully and was very sensible of his attention.