pfalzgraf

Unadapted borrowing from German Pfalzgraf.

pfalzgraf (plural pfalzgrafs)

1. (historical, rare) A German representative of the Frankish king (or, later, the Holy Roman Emperor), in a palatial domain of the crown; a count palatine.
   • 1839, Joseph Snowe, The Rhine, Legends, Traditions, History, from Cologne to Mainz:

     With the sanction and connivance of Irmengarde, her lady-mother, the lovers met nightly in the gardens of Stahleck; and, to crown all, during the temporary absence of the pfalzgraf at the court of the emperor, their hands were united […]

   • 1857, George Meredith, Farina, page 234:

     The warrior bishops, electors, pfalzgrafs, and knights of the empire, all swore it was no shame not to be a match for Sathanas.

• palsgrave