douzepers

American

[dooz-peerz] / ˈduzˌpɪərz /

plural noun

French Legend. the 12 peers or paladins represented in old romances as attendants of Charlemagne.
French History. the 12 great spiritual and temporal peers of France, taken to represent those of Charlemagne.

douzepers British

/ ˈduːzˌpɛəz /

plural noun

French history the 12 great peers of the realm, seen as the symbolic heirs of Charlemagne's 12 chosen peers

"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

Etymology

Origin of douzepers

1175–1225; Middle English dusze pers (plural) < Old French douze pers (plural) twelve equals. See dozen ¹, peer ²

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