arrière-ban

American

[ar-ee-er-ban, a-ryer-bahn] / ˈær iˌɛrˈbæn, a rjɛrˈbɑ̃ /

noun

a group of vassals who owed military service, especially to French kings.
the summoning by a medieval ruler of all vassals and free men for military service.

arrière-ban British

/ arjɛrbɑ̃ /

noun

(in medieval France) a summons to the king's vassals to do military service
the vassals so assembled for military service

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

arrière-bans

plural

Etymology

Origin of arrière-ban

First recorded in 1515–25; from French, alteration (by association with arrière “behind, rear”) of Old French arban, herban, from Germanic; compare Old High German hari “army,” ban “proclamation”; see arrears, ban ²

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023