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seigneur

[seen-yur, seyn-; French se-nyœr]
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noun, plural sei·gneurs [seen-yurz, seyn-; French se-nyœr] /sinˈyɜrz, seɪn-; French sɛˈnyœr/. (sometimes initial capital letter)

a lord, especially a feudal lord.
(in French Canada) a holder of a seigneury.

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commander, liege, aristocrat, captain, prince, nobleman, superior, overlord, baron, sovereign, bishop, potentate, monarch, leader, dad, noble, patrician, ruler, peer, magnate

Origin of seigneur

1585–95; < French < Vulgar Latin *senior lord. See senior
Related formssei·gneu·ri·al [seen-yur-ee-uh l, seyn-] /sinˈyɜr i əl, seɪn-/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for seigneur

Historical Examples of seigneur

  • Oh, my dear seigneur, how I love you, and how grateful I am to you!

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • You are the personification of fortune, of beauty, and of youth, my dear Seigneur; my only pleasure is in you.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • One moment, just one moment more, and we will go away, my dear Seigneur.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • He always called me his "seigneur," as did the other of my servants born at Bardelys.

  • With returning testiness the seigneur swung round to face him again.

    Scaramouche

    Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for seigneur

seigneur

noun

a feudal lord, esp in France
(in French Canada, until 1854) the landlord of an estate that was subdivided among peasants who held their plots by a form of feudal tenure
Derived Formsseigneurial, adjective

Word Origin for seigneur

C16: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin senior, from Latin: an elderly man; see senior
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
Word Origin and History for seigneur
n.

"feudal landowner in France," 1590s, from Middle French seigneur, from Old French seignor (see seignior). Related: Seigneuress.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper