Etymograph

English

palatine

Palatine comes from Medieval Latin palātīnus ‘relating to the palace’, and goes back to Latin palātium.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalātium1‘palace’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500palātīnus1‘relating to the palace’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400palatin1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500palatyne1
  5. Englishtodaypalatine1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English palatine

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalātiumWiktionary, English palatine‘palace’
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500palātīnusWiktionary, English palatine‘relating to the palace’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400palatinWiktionary, English palatine
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500palatyneWiktionary, English palatine
  5. EnglishtodaypalatineWiktionary, English palatine

Linked words

through Latin palātium ‘palace’

palace, palazzo, paladin, 2 more

Another origin of palatine

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentpalatine‘tippet, shoulder cape’
  2. Englishtodaypalatine

Borrowed from French palatine, named after German Princess Palatine Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine (1652–1722).

Another origin of palatine

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat, wide’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-osuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpalātum‘the palate’
  4. New Latinc. 1500–1900palātīnus‘of or pertaining to the palate’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presentpalatin
  6. Englishtodaypalatine

Today it means

adj (of an official or feudal lord) Having local authority and possessing royal privileges that elsewhere belongs only to a sovereign.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “palatine”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin palātium / palatine