- (formerly, in Germany) a count having jurisdiction in his fief or province.
- an earl or other county proprietor who exercised royal prerogatives within his county.
- (in the Holy Roman Empire)
- originally an official who administered the king's domains or his justice
- later, a count who exercised royal authority in his own domains
- (in England and Ireland) an earl or other lord of a county palatine
- (in the late Roman Empire) a palace official who exercised judicial authority
