principality
noun/pɹɪnsɪˈpælɪti/
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.
1
A region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess.
- At this time Russia consisted of a dozen or so principalities, which were frequently at war with one another.1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 14:
- The principality of Freedonia (www.freedonia.org), an earnest collective of secessionist superlibertarians based in Boston, falls into the first category.2000 March 23, Alex Blumberg, “It's Good to Be King”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2005:
3
Obsolete The state of being a prince or ruler; sovereignty, absolute authority.
4
Archaic The state of being principal; pre-eminence.
- Derived terms
- coprincipality, princessipality, Principality of Andorra, Principality of Asturias, Principality of Iberia, Principality of Kakheti