potentate

[ poht-n-teyt ]

noun

1. a person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler.

potentate

/ ˈpəʊtənˌteɪt /

noun

1. a person who possesses great power or authority, esp a ruler or monarch

Word History and Origins

Origin of potentate¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin potentātus potentate, Latin: power, dominion. See potent ¹, -ate ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of potentate¹

C14: from Late Latin potentātus ruler, from Latin: rule, command, from potens powerful, from posse to be able

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, their dominance of North Yemen proved unacceptable to the Saudis and the allied United Arab Emirates, whose secular potentate, Mohammed Bin Zayed, had long despised such Islamic political movements.

From Salon

And then, outside the Kenilworth Hotel in Miami in January 1960, he was cornered by a cadre of the league’s most fearsome power brokers: the Mara brothers, Jack and Wellington, owners of the Giants; Dan Reeves, the Rams’ benefactor; and Paul Brown, the coach and founder and all-purpose potentate of the team in Cleveland that still bears his name.

From New York Times

Newsom should ask himself: If he can be goaded that easily — caving to pressure and flip-flopping on a pledge to name a Senate caretaker to replace the late Dianne Feinstein — how would he ever stand up to a foreign potentate?

From Los Angeles Times

Feinstein ruled over San Francisco like a potentate, hands on and fingernails dug in.

From Los Angeles Times

It doesn't include Trump pressuring foreign governments to change laws to benefit his properties, Don Jr. being received in India like a visiting potentate to sell access and condos, Trump's Indonesian resort project getting backing from Chinese investors, and on and on.

From Salon

Related Words

• despot