User blog comment:Scrawland Scribblescratch/From Louis XIV to Palpatine: Absolute Leadership/@comment-30228680-20120916212958/@comment-1738490-20120916224005

Ethimologically, "monarchy" comes from greek Μοναρχία (Monarchía) "Power of One". So a monarchy is basicly that State in which sovereignity comes from a single personas who holds the power as long as his legitimity lasts.

A dictatorship in which the dictator is chosen, is an elective monarchy, with the former dictator's collegues being the electors. So the only requeriment of a government to be monarchical is that the monarch has to rule during his lifetime, until he abdicates or until the electors or designators elect someone to replace him.

Colective form of monarchies such as diarchies, triumvirates and such have existed. The Senate in Rome, except for the few plebeian senators, could be considered a monarchical institution, though it is more appropiated to refer it as an aristocracy, as power is not exercised by a single person but by an institution of the "best".