count palatine

noun, plural counts palatine.

(formerly, in Germany) a count having jurisdiction in his fief or province.
Also called earl palatine. English History. an earl or other county proprietor who exercised royal prerogatives within his county.

Origin of count palatine

First recorded in 1590–1600

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for count palatine

Historical Examples of count palatine

One single German prince of little importance, the Count-palatine Philip, was present: he carried the orb.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV
J. H. Merle D'Aubign

British Dictionary definitions for count palatine

count palatine

noun plural counts palatine history

(in the Holy Roman Empire)
1. originally an official who administered the king's domains or his justice
2. later, a count who exercised royal authority in his own domains
(in England and Ireland) an earl or other lord of a county palatine
(in the late Roman Empire) a palace official who exercised judicial authority

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012