principate

/ˈpɹɪns.əˌpeɪt/

Etymology

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.

principate means primary; principal. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

Why this word is great

PRINCIPATE — [Noun] The political system established by Augustus, characterized by the consolidation of power under a single leader (the princeps) while maintaining the facade of the Roman Republic. Learned borrowing from Latin prīncipātus, from prīnceps ("first, chief, leader") + -ātus ("-ate, denoting office or state"). Unlike the later, overt autocracy of the Dominate, where the emperor was openly dominus ("lord"), or the territorial focus of a medieval principality, the principate denotes the specific office and its delicate political architecture—a studied performance of republican continuity. It is the chill marble of a restored senate house, the careful omission of a crown from an emperor's portrait, and the quiet, unquestioned presence of Praetorian guards just beyond the chamber door. This was a republic preserved in formal amber, while absolute power circulated unseen through its veins—the profound melancholy of a state that could only move forward by pretending to look backward.

adj

Primary; principal.

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.“The history of the courts and of judicial procedure during the principate is closely parallel to that of the government as a whole.”
The office of one who is principal or preeminent (such as a prince); the quality or status of being principal; preeminence.“1998, Annabel S. Brett (translator and editor), William of Ockham, On the Power Of Emperors and Popes, Thoemmes Press, page 87, 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 deserv”
A state ruled by a prince; a principality.