landgrave
noun, proper noun
Forms landgraves landgraf
- noun (historical) One holding a specific nobiliary title ranking as count in certain feudal countships in the Holy Roman Empire, in present Germany.
- noun County nobleman in the British, privately held North American colony Carolina, ranking just below the proprietary (chartered equivalent of a royal vassal).
- proper noun A surname.
Etymology
From German Landgraf, itself from Land (“land, territory, principality”) + Graf (“count”), from *grafa (“military rank”), from Latin graphio. More at graft.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A German nobleman of a rank corresponding to that of an earl in England and of a count in France.
Etymology [G. landgraf; land land + graf earl, count; cf. D. landgraaf, F. landgrave.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “landgrave”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details