'sultanate' originates from Arabic, specifically the word 'sulṭān', where 'sulṭān' meant 'authority, ruler'; the English suffix '-ate' comes via Latin/French indicating an office or jurisdiction.

'sultanate' passed into Medieval Latin as 'sultanatus' and Old French as 'sultanat', and eventually became the modern English word 'sultanate'.

Initially, it meant 'the rule or authority of a sultan', and over time it has come to refer both to that authority and to the territory/state governed by a sultan ('state ruled by a sultan').