the.com/palatinate
a chunk of land where some lucky noble got to play king without the paperwork.
means a territory ruled by a prince or count with royal-level powers granted directly by a sovereign.
from from latin palatinus, relating to the palatine hill in rome where roman emperors lived, later applied to officials of the imperial palace, then to territories whose rulers held delegated royal authority, most famously the rhineland's holy roman empire fiefdom.
county palatineenglish version, like durham or chester
rhine connectiongave name to germany's electoral palatinate
purple linkpittsburgh's sports color descends from this word
real powercould mint coins and hold courts independently