From the late Middle Ages on, German used Obrigkeit (formerly Oberherrlichkeit, “overlordship”) to denote sovereign power (in the abstract) or those wielding it. After 1500, the word in the latter sense was used almost exclusively in reference to secular and clerical authorities in the Empire (Authority). Only in the 19th century did other terms emerge, such as Staatsgewalt (state authority/power) or Landesherrschaft (territorial authority/sovereignty; Territor…