Porphyrogenitism

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Porphyrogenitism \Por`phy*ro*gen"i*tism\, n. [LL. porphyro
     genitus, fr. Gr. ?; ? purple + root of gi`gnesqai 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.
     [1913 Webster]