stadtholdership

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: the office, rank, or period in office of a stadtholder in the Netherlands

   William of Orange's elevation to the stadtholdership altered the balance of power in the Dutch Republic.

Formed from stadtholder + -ship. Stadtholder is a partial translation of Dutch stadhouder, literally 'place-holder,' a title for provincial governors who became the leading executive figures of the Dutch Republic.

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