The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

palatine \pal"a*tine\, a. [F. palatin, L. palatinus, fr.
   palatium. See Palace, and cf. Paladin.]
   1. Of or pertaining to a palace, or to a high officer of a
      palace; hence, possessing royal privileges.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Of or pertaining to the Palatinate.
      [PJC]

   3. Of or pertaining to a Palatine[1].
      [PJC]

   Count palatine, County palatine. See under Count, and
      County.

   Palatine hill, or The palatine, one of the seven hills of
      Rome, once occupied by the palace of the C[ae]sars. See
      also Palatine Hill in the vocabulary, and Palace.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Count \Count\, n. [F. conte, fr. L. comes, comitis, associate,
   companion, one of the imperial court or train, properly, one
   who goes with another; com- + ire to go, akin to Skr. i to
   go.]
   A nobleman on the continent of Europe, equal in rank to an
   English earl.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: Though the tittle Count has never been introduced into
         Britain, the wives of Earls have, from the earliest
         period of its history, been designated as Countesses.
         --Brande & C.
         [1913 Webster]

   Count palatine.
   (a) Formerly, the proprietor of a county who possessed royal
       prerogatives within his county, as did the Earl of
       Chester, the Bishop of Durham, and the Duke of Lancaster.
       [Eng.] See County palatine, under County.
   (b) Originally, a high judicial officer of the German
       emperors; afterward, the holder of a fief, to whom was
       granted the right to exercise certain imperial powers
       within his own domains. [Germany]
       [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

count palatine
    n 1: a count who exercised royal authority in his own domain