principality

plural principalities

1. countableA region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess.First known use 14th c.

   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

   1 more example

   The principality of Freedonia (www.freedonia.org), an earnest collective of secessionist superlibertarians based in Boston, falls into the first category.

   2000 March 28, Alex Blumberg, “It's Good to Be King”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2005

2. countablelifestyleA spiritual being, specifically in Christian angelology, the third lowest level of angels, ranked above archangels and below powers.First known use 16th c.
3. countableobsoleteuncountableThe state of being a prince or ruler; sovereignty, absolute authority.First known use 14th–19th c.
4. archaiccountableuncountableThe state of being principal; pre-eminence.First known use 14th c.

1. Wales

   Welshmen from throughout the Principality, as well as well-known international players, came to Cardiff to don the famous balck-and-blue jersey.

   2015, Gareth Bennett, David Collins, The Little Book of Cardiff, The History Press, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   The first information I have of a sermon at an association, in the Principality, is in the letter of 1703, which appoints one to be preached the following year.

   1795, Joshua THOMAS (of Leominster.), A History of the Baptist Association in Wales, from the year 1650, to the year 1790, etc, page 77

   During the last decade or so Wales has attracted about 10 per cent of British holiday-makers. According to a sample survey carried out in 1961, the Principality accommodated 4 million people in that year who spent a total of 28-million holiday nights.

   1967, Transactions - Institute of British Geographers

2. Alternative letter-case form of principality; any of the actual extant principalities.

   The affair led to a crisis in relations between France and the Principality, with the French Government overruling Prince Rainier by refusing to extend the mandate of Monaco's Chief Prosecutor

   2002, Eur, Western Europe 2003, Psychology Press →ISBN, page 451