"rule or territory of an emir," 1847; see emir + -ate (1).
Entries linking to emirate
emir n.
among Arabic or Muslim peoples, "chief of a family or tribe; a ruling prince," 1590s, from Arabic amir "commander" (see admiral).
-ate 1
word-forming element used in forming nouns from Latin words ending in -atus, -atum (such as estate, primate, senate). Those that came to English via French often arrived with -at, but an -e was added after c. 1400 to indicate the long vowel. The suffix also can mark adjectives formed from Latin past participles in -atus, -ata (such as desolate, moderate, separate); again, they often were adopted in Middle English as -at, with an -e appended after c. 1400.