principality
/pɹɪnsɪˈpælɪti/ noun, proper noun
Forms principalities the Principality
- noun (countable) A region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess.
- noun (theology, countable) A spiritual being, specifically in Christian angelology, the third lowest level of angels, ranked above archangels and below powers.
- noun (obsolete) The state of being a prince or ruler; sovereignty, absolute authority.
- noun (now rare) The state of being principal; pre-eminence.
- proper noun Wales
Synonyms
Etymology
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.
From the mistaken belief that the Prince of Wales is the country's head of state; the historical Principality of Wales only made up a portion of the country of Wales.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Sovereignty; supreme power; hence, superiority; predominance; high, or the highest, station. Sir P. Sidney.
- noun A prince; one invested with sovereignty. "Next upstood Nisroch, of principalities the prime." Milton.
Etymology [L. principalitas preëminence, excellence: cf. F. principalité, principauté. See Principal.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “principality”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details