villeinage

or vil·lain·age, vil·lan·age, vil·len·age

[ vil-uh-nij ]

/ ˈvɪl ə nɪdʒ /

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See synonyms for villeinage on Thesaurus.com

noun

the tenure by which a villein held land and tenements from a lord.

the condition or status of a villein.

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Origin of villeinage

1275–1325; Middle English vilenage<Anglo-French, Old French. See villein, -age

Words nearby villeinage

Villavicencio, -ville, Villeda Morales, Ville-de-Paris, villein, villeinage, villein socage, Villella, Villeneuve, Villeurbanne, villi

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

How to use villeinage in a sentence

Some of them as tenants in free socage may maintain their position; many fall down into the class of tenants in villeinage.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland
Against a background of villeinage and week-work, the borough begins to stand out as the scene of burgage tenure.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland
The barons homines we take to be freeholders; he would be absolutely liable for the tax cast upon his villeinage.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland
First, what was the legal nature of copyhold tenure, and how did it arise out of medival villeinage?
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century|Richard Henry Tawney

Even merchet, the most hateful of all the incidents of villeinage, is something more than a mere memory.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century|Richard Henry Tawney

British Dictionary definitions for villeinage

villeinage

villainage

/ (ˈvɪlənɪdʒ) /

noun (in medieval Europe)

the status and condition of a villein

the tenure by which a villein held his land

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

villeinage

or vil·lain·age, vil·lan·age, vil·len·age

Origin of villeinage

Words nearby villeinage

Words related to villeinage

How to use villeinage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for villeinage

villainage