potestate

P3O1T1E1S1T1A1T1E1
/ˈpəʊtəsteɪt/

noun

A chief ruler; a potentate.

OriginMiddle English potestat ← Old French potestat ← Latin potestās →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounpotestate (plural potestates)

plural potestates

  1. obsoleteA chief ruler; a potentate.

    For our vvreſtling is not againſt fleſh and bloud : but againſt Princes and Poteſtats, againſt the * rectors of the vvorld of this darkenes, againft the ſpirituals of wickednes in the celeſtials [translating caelestibus].

    1582, The Nevv Testament of Iesus Christ: […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Rheims: Iohn Fogny, →OCLC, Ephesians 6:12, page 524

Origin

  1. Latinpotestās
  2. Old Frenchpotestat
  3. Middle Englishpotestat
  4. Englishpotestate

From Middle English potestat, from Old French potestat, from Latin potestās, potestātem.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

potestate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potestate

MLA

“potestate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potestate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “potestate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/potestate.

Source: potestate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.