Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

vassalage

[vas-uh-lij]
See more synonyms for vassalage on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or condition of a vassal.
  2. homage or service required of a vassal.
  3. a territory held by a vassal.
  4. vassals collectively.
  5. dependence, subjection, or servitude.
Show More

Origin of vassalage

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French; see vassal, -age
Related formssub·vas·sal·age, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

serfdom, enslavement, bondage, subjugation, labor, servitude, captivity, imprisonment, slavery, incarceration, confinement, custody, thralldom, thrall, obedience, yoke, subjection, peonage, bonds, vassalage

Examples from the Web for vassalage

Historical Examples

  • The vassalage of the poor has ever been the favorite offspring of Aristocracy.

    The Journal of Negro History, Volume 3, 1918

    Various

  • They did not propose, if they could avoid it, to be forced into vassalage to the Swedes.

  • This is tantamount to proclaiming a form of vassalage—a thing which is not to be tolerated.

  • The great mass of inhabitants were kept in a state of servitude and vassalage.

    Hannibal

    Jacob Abbott

  • Week after week went by, and we were kept in a state of vassalage.

    The Two Supercargoes

    W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for vassalage

vassalage

noun
  1. (esp in feudal society)
    1. the condition of being a vassal or the obligations to which a vassal was liable
    2. the relationship between a vassal and his lord
  2. subjection, servitude, or dependence in general
  3. rare vassals collectively
Show More
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 vassalage

n.

c.1300, from Old French vassalage, from vassal (see vassal).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper