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definitions

vassal

[ vas-uh l ]
/ ˈvæs əl /
|

noun

(in the feudal system) a person granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and usually military service or its equivalent to a lord or other superior; feudal tenant.
a person holding some similar relation to a superior; a subject, subordinate, follower, or retainer.
a servant or slave.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of a vassal.
having the status or position of a vassal.

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RELATED WORDS

serf, liege, slave, dependent, thrall, beneficiary, peasant, subordinate, varlet, tenant, subject, helot, liegeman, bondman, esne

Nearby words

  1. vasovagal attack,
  2. vasovagal syncope,
  3. vasovasostomy,
  4. vasovesiculectomy,
  5. vassa,
  6. vassalage,
  7. vassalic,
  8. vassalize,
  9. vassar,
  10. vassar, matthew

Origin of vassal

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Medieval Latin vassallus, equivalent to vass(us) servant (< Celtic; compare Welsh gwas young man, Irish foss servant) + -allus noun suffix
Related formsvas·sal·less, adjectivenon·vas·sal, nounsub·vas·sal, nounun·der·vas·sal, noun
Can be confusedvassal vessel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vassals

British Dictionary definitions for vassals

vassal

/ (ˈvæsəl) /

noun

(in feudal society) a man who entered into a personal relationship with a lord to whom he paid homage and fealty in return for protection and often a fief. A great vassal was in vassalage to a king and a rear vassal to a great vassal
  1. a person, nation, etc, in a subordinate, suppliant, or dependent position relative to another
  2. (as modifier)vassal status

adjective

of or relating to a vassal
Derived Formsvassal-less, adjective

Word Origin for vassal

C14: via Old French from Medieval Latin vassallus, from vassus servant, of Celtic origin; compare Welsh gwas boy, Old Irish foss servant
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 vassals

vassal

n.

mid-15c. (c.1200 as a surname) "tenant who pledges fealty to a lord," from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus "manservant, domestic, retainer," from vassus "servant," from Old Celtic *wasso- "young man, squire" (cf. Welsh gwas "youth, servant," Breton goaz "servant, vassal, man," Irish foss "servant"). The adjective is recorded from 1590s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for vassals

vassal

Under feudalism, a subordinate who placed himself in service to a lord in return for the lord's protection.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.