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"Voivode" (as it is spelled in the Oxford English Dictionary), or less commonly "voivod", is a Slavic word that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. The word gradually came to denote the governor of a province; the territory ruled or administered by a voivode is known as a voivodeship. The Polish title is sometimes rendered in English as Palatine or Count Palatine, in charge of a palatinate. In the Slavic terminology, the rank of a voivode is in some cases considered equal of that of a German Duke (Herzog) (see Etymology below).