vassal

[ vas-uhl ]
/ ˈvæs əl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR vassal ON THESAURUS.COM

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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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

OTHER WORDS FROM vassal

vas·sal·less, adjectivenon·vas·sal, nounsub·vas·sal, nounun·der·vas·sal, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH vassal

vassal , vessel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to vassal

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

Example sentences from the Web for vassal

British Dictionary definitions for vassal

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 forms of vassal

vassal-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

Cultural definitions for vassal

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.