vassal
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- vasal (rare)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
vassal (plural vassals)
- (historical, law) The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.
- (historical) Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior.
- (figurative) Any subordinate bound by similar close ties.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- The vassals of his anger.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Adjective[edit]
vassal (not comparable)
- Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- Did they, quoth you? / Who sees the heavenly Rosaline / That, like a rude and savage man of Inde / At the first opening of the gorgeous east / Bows not his vassal head and strucken blind / Kisses the base ground with obedient breast?
Translations[edit]
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb[edit]
vassal (third-person singular simple present vassals, present participle vassaling or vassalling, simple past and past participle vassaled or vassalled)
- (transitive) To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
- (transitive) To subordinate to someone or something.
Translations[edit]
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Anagrams[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
vassal (feminine vassale, masculine plural vassaux, feminine plural vassales)
Noun[edit]
vassal m (plural vassaux, feminine vassale)
- a vassal
Descendants[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “vassal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams[edit]
Hungarian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
vas (“iron”) + -val (“with”, instrumental case suffix)
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
vassal
Derived terms[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old French vassal.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
vassal (plural vassalles)
- A feudal retainer, who is obliged to render military service.
- A servant to one’s beloved, professed lover.
- As surname.
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “vassal, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French[edit]
Noun[edit]
vassal oblique singular, m (oblique plural vassaus or vassax or vassals, nominative singular vassaus or vassax or vassals, nominative plural vassal)
Descendants[edit]
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Gaulish
- English terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/æsəl
- Rhymes:English/æsəl/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with historical senses
- en:Law
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Feudalism
- en:Occupations
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Gaulish
- French terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French adjectives
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- Hungarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hungarian non-lemma forms
- Hungarian noun forms
- Middle English terms borrowed from Old French
- Middle English terms derived from Old French
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns