county palatine

American  

noun

counties palatine plural

1. the territory under the jurisdiction of a count palatine.

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county palatine British  

noun

1. the lands of a count palatine

2. (in England and Ireland) a county in which the earl or other lord exercised many royal powers, esp judicial authority

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• counties palatine
  plural

Etymology

Origin of county palatine

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

county palatine

On the erection of Cheshire to a county palatine after the Conquest, Chester became the seat of government of the palatine earls.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various

Population and Administration.—The ancient county, which is a county palatine, has an area of 657,783 acres, with a population in 1891 of 730,058 and in 1901 of 815,099.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various

Till the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Henry VIII. the royal franchise of Ely, in several statutes, was recognised as the county palatine of Ely.

From Cathedral Cities of England by Gilbert, George

He became a barrister in 1739, and, after a period of inactivity, obtained a large and profitable practice, becoming a K.C. in 1754, and afterwards attorney-general for the county palatine of Lancaster.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

Situated amid the wild and high moorlands, at whose feet hath stood for ages the royal and ducal capital of the county palatine of Lancaster, once rose a strong border defence called Raven Castle.

From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 by Roby, John