Word.ws English Dictionary

principate

/ˈpɹɪns.əˌpeɪt/

principate noun: the early period of the Roman Empire, during which some characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic were retained; the reign of any particular emperor during said period.

Noun

principate (countable and uncountable, plural principates)

  1. (Ancient-Rome) The early period of the Roman Empire, during which some characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic were retained; the reign of any particular emperor during said period.
    • The history of the courts and of judicial procedure during the principate is closely parallel to that of the government as a whole.1972, H. F. Jolowicz, Barry Nicholas, A Historical Introduction to the Study of Roman Law, 3rd edition, Cambridge University Press, page 395
    • The transition from republic to Principate brought a new and potent factor into the legal picture of the Roman state, the princeps or emperor.1978, A. Arthur Schiller, Roman Law: Mechanisms of Development, Walter de Gruyter (Mouton Publishers), page 463
  2. The office of one who is principal or preeminent (such as a prince); the quality or status of being principal; preeminence.
    • From all this we may draw the conclusion that papal principate was instituted for the utility and advantage of its subjects and not for the honour and glory or the utility and temporal advantage of the holder of the principate, in such a way as that such principate deserves to be called 'of...1998, Annabel S. Brett (translator and editor), William of Ockham, On the Power Of Emperors and Popes, Thoemmes Press, page 87
  3. A state ruled by a prince; a principality.

Adjective

principate (not comparable)

  1. Primary; principal.

Synonyms of principate

Forms of principate

pluralprincipates

Origin of principate

Learned borrowing from Latin prīncipātus, referring to the titles prīnceps senātūs (“first among senators”) and prīnceps cīvitātis (“first among citizens”), adopted by Octavian Caesar Augustus in order to preserve the illusion of formal continuance of some aspects of the Roman Republic.

Questions about principate

What does principate mean?
Principate means the early period of the Roman Empire, during which some characteristics of the government of the Roman Republic were retained; the reign of any particular emperor during said period.
What part of speech is principate?
Principate can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce principate?
Principate is pronounced /ˈpɹɪns.əˌpeɪt/.
What is the plural of principate?
The plural of principate is principates.

Words near principate in the dictionary

  1. principally
  2. principalness
  3. principals
  4. principalship
  5. principalships
  6. principate
  7. principates
  8. Principato
  9. Principatos
  10. principe
  11. Principean

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: principate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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