See also: Principality

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English principalte, principalite, from Anglo-Norman principalté, Middle French principalté, from Late Latin prīncipālitās, from Latin prīncipālis (principal) + -tās. Equivalent to principal +‎ -ity.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /pɹɪnsɪˈpælɪti/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Hyphenation: prin‧ci‧pal‧i‧ty
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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principality (countable and uncountable, plural principalities)

  1. (countable) A region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess. [from 14th c.]
    • 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 14:
      At this time Russia consisted of a dozen or so principalities, which were frequently at war with one another.
  2. (theology, countable) A spiritual being, specifically in Christian angelology, the fifth level of angels, ranked above powers and below dominions. [from 16th c.]
  3. (obsolete) The state of being a prince or ruler; sovereignty, absolute authority. [14th–19th c.]
  4. (now rare) The state of being principal; pre-eminence. [from 14th c.]

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

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