the position, function, or tenure of office of a rabbi
2.
rabbis collectively
rabbinate in American English
(ˈræbɪnɪt; ˈræbɪˌneɪt)
noun
1.
the position or office of rabbi
2.
rabbis collectively
rabbinate in American English
(ˈræbənɪt, -ˌneit)
noun
1.
the office or term of office of a rabbi
2.
a group of rabbis
the Orthodox rabbinate
Word origin
[1695–1705; rabbin + -ate3]This word is first recorded in the period 1695–1705. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: assemblage, caisson, nonresistant, pinwheel, vector-ate is a suffix occurring orig. in nouns borrowed from Latin, and in English coinagesfrom Latin bases, that denote offices or functions (consulate; triumvirate; pontificate), as well as institutions or collective bodies (electorate; senate); sometimes extended to denote a person who exercises such a function (magistrate; potentate), an associated place (consulate), or a period of office or rule (protectorate). Joined to stems of any origin, -ate signifies the office, term of office, or territory of a ruler or official (caliphate; khanate; shogunate)