heptarchy

[Gr. hept a =seven, and arc he = rule, sovereignty, a kingdom.] A government by seven persons; a country, a district under seven rulers. Specif., the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Kent, Su ex, We ex, E ex, Mercia, Nor thumb ria, and East Anglia, which are commonly represented in English histories to have existed concurrently with and independently of each other. This, however, is not the fact, and the term therefore is a misnomer. hep-ta-sper-mous, a. [Gr. hept a = seven, and sperm a a seed.] Bot.: Having seven seeds.