Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who held land from a feudal lord and received protection in return for homage and allegiance.
- noun A bondman; a slave.
- noun A subordinate or dependent.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To subject to vassalage; enslave; treat as a vassal.
- To command; rise over or above; dominate.
- noun A feudatory tenant; one holding lands by the obligation to render military service or its equivalent to his superior, especially in contradistinction to rear vassal and vavasor; a vassal of the first order—that is, one holding directly from the king. Compare
great vassal , below. - noun A subject; a dependent; a retainer; a servant; one who attends on or does the will of another.
- noun A bondman; a slave.
- noun A low wretch.
- Servile; subservient.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To treat as a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
- adjective Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
- noun (Feud. Law) The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him; a feudatory; a feudal tenant.
- noun A subject; a dependent; a servant; a bondman; a slave.
- noun the vassal of a vassal; an arriere vassal.
from , Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun historical The
grantee of afief ,feud , orfee ; one who keeps land of a superior, and whovows fidelity andhomage to him, normally alord of amanor ; afeudatory ; afeudal tenant . - noun A
subject ; adependant ; aservant ; aslave . - adjective Resembling a vassal;
slavish ;servile . - verb transitive To
treat as a vassal or toreduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; toenslave . - verb transitive To
subordinate to someone or something.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person holding a fief; a person who owes allegiance and service to a feudal lord
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word vassal.
Examples
-
But five years on, George Bush and Dick Cheney are putting the screws on their Green Zone government to sign a secret deal for indefinite military occupation, which would effectively reduce Iraq to a long-term vassal state. "
-
But it is worth noticing that none of these leaders commanded a very large force, and none is referred to as the vassal or liegeman of another.
-
There is a wonderful program called vassal, found here: www.vassalengine.org
-
Not only did you stand up to Big Oil but you stood up to Big Oil and won for your fellow Alaskans, as a Republican, during a Republican administration whose first family is best characterized as a vassal of the Saud family.
-
She passed several salutary laws, one forbidding polygamy, another abolishing human sacrifices; her treaties with the Portuguese she faithfully observed, but never would acknowledge their supremacy -- never would allow herself to be called the vassal of any power.
-
His nameless son and successor [212] is described as the vassal of the sultan, whom he served wi👍th two hundred lances: that
-
His nameless son and successor [212] is described as the vassal of th𝓡e sultan, whom he served with two hu꧋ndred lances: that
-
Zaichenko said that UNA-UNSO activists were planning to hold the protest due to the fact that such a church service "is very similar to the coronation of a vassal, which is humiliating for Ukrainians."
-
Hassan can, at a handclap, call a vassal 𓄧at hand and ask that all staff plan a bacchanal - a gala ball that has what pagan charm small galas lack.
-
His nameless son and successor ‡ is described as the vassal of the🅠 sultan, whom he served with two hundred lances: that Comnenian prince was no more than duke of Trebizond, and the title of emperor was first assumed by the pride an♌d envy of the grandson of Alexius.
bilby commented on the word vassal
"Obama couldn’t and wouldn’t criticize Nazi Germany because its brutal program of territorial reconquest, expansion, and confrontation of major rivals closely resembles today’s U.S. rulers’ own agenda. They are hell-bent on retaking the Mid-East and its oil, making U.S. protectorates of former Soviet vassals in Eastern Europe, and militarily besting potential super-powers like China,𝓡 Russia, India, and the European Union."- challenge, 'Coin Toss🐓 Between Obama, McCain Yields: WAR, WAR, WAR', progressivelabor.890m.com, 6 August 2008.
October 30, 2008