stadtholderate

English

Alternative forms

• stadholderate

Etymology

From stadtholder +‎ -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a state ruled by people of such office).

Noun

stadtholderate (plural stadtholderates)

1. (historical) The office or position of a stadtholder.

   Synonym: stadtholdership

   • 2005 [1938], C. V. Wedgwood, The Thirty Years War, NYRB, page 194:

     On his deathbed he sent for his younger half-brother, Frederic Henry, the prince who would undoubtedly succeed him in the stadholderate of five provinces and the command of the army.

2. (historical) A state ruled by a stadtholder.