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Webster 1913 Edition
Porphyrogenitism
Porˊphy-ro-gen′i-tism
,Noun.
[LL.
porphyro genitus
, fr. Gr. [GREEK]; [GREEK] purple + root of γίγνεσθαι
to be born.] The principle of succession in royal families, especially among the Eastern Roman emperors, by which a younger son, if born after the accession of his father to the throne, was preferred to an elder son who was not so born.
Sir T. Palgrave.
Definition 2024
porphyrogenitism
porphyrogenitism
English
Noun
porphyrogenitism (uncountable)
- (rare) The principle of succession in royal families, especially among the Eastern Roman emperors, by which a younger son, if born after the accession of his father to the throne, was preferred to an elder son who was not so born.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir T. Palgrave to this entry?)
- 1915, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (volume 2)
- The only legitimate spouse for a Ptolemy was a princess of the royal house, and generally a daughter not of a crown prince, but of a consecrated king. The evidence of this porphyrogenitism in the dynasty is quite clear.