feudatory

[ fyoo-duh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

/ ˈfyu dəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

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noun, plural feu·da·to·ries.

a person who holds lands by feudal tenure; a feudal vassal.

a fief or fee.

adjective

(of a kingdom or state) under the overlordship of another sovereign or state.

(of a feudal estate) holding or held by feudal tenure.

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Origin of feudatory

1585–95; <Medieval Latin feudā(tor) fief-holder (see feud², -ator) + -tory¹, -tory²)

Words nearby feudatory

feudal, feudalism, feudality, feudalize, feudal system, feudatory, feu de joie, feudist, Feuerbach, Feuillant, feuilleton

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use feudatory in a sentence

A feudatory Sovereign indeed; but yet independent so long as my dues of homage are duly discharged.
Peveril of the Peak|Sir Walter Scott
Though a feudatory of the rebellious Holkar of Indore, he kept aloof from all Mahratta intrigues, and behaved well to us.
Forty-one years in India|Frederick Sleigh Roberts
The feudatory knights had disagreements among themselves, and carried on petty war against each other.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866|Various
In 1905 the district of Sambalpur, together with the five feudatory states, was transferred to Bengal.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1|Various

If the principality was feudatory, the conclusion necessarily follows, that it was under the government of the king's laws.
Novanglus, and Massachusettensis|John Adams

British Dictionary definitions for feudatory

feudatory

/ (ˈfjuːdətərɪ, in feudal Europe -trɪ) /

noun

a person holding a fief; vassal

adjective

relating to or characteristic of the relationship between lord and vassal

(esp of a kingdom) under the overlordship of another sovereign

Word Origin for feudatory

C16: from Medieval Latin feudātor

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