principate

[prin-suh-peyt]

noun

1. supreme power or office.

principate

/ ˈprɪnsɪˌpeɪt /

noun

1. a state ruled by a prince

2. a form of rule in the early Roman Empire in which some republican forms survived

Word History and Origins

Origin of principate¹

1300–50; Middle English < Latin prīncipātus, equivalent to prīncip- ( prince ) + -ātus -ate ³

Example Sentences

Augustus did not self-righteously return the Principate to the strife of the late republic.

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Nicole Kidman introduced scenes from her forthcoming biopic Grace of Monaco, in which the actor-princess struggles to adapt to her role as European royalty against a backdrop of diplomatic tension between the principate and France.

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Hitherto we have been able to observe monarchy in the patriarchal form of the head of the tribe, in the god-like position of the Pharaohs of Egypt, in the forms of a military principate, who ruled with despotic power over wide kingdoms, or in diminished copies of this original.

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We have already seen that the principate of these cities was of great antiquity, that it remained in existence through all the periods of Phenician history, that it was rooted deeply enough to outlive even the independence of the cities.

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Under the principate their status underwent a marked decline.

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