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liege

 [leej, leezh]   Origin

liege

   [leej, leezh]
noun
1.
a feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service.
2.
a feudal vassal or subject.
adjective
3.
owing primary allegiance and service to a feudal lord.
4.
pertaining to the relation between a feudal vassal and lord.
5.
loyal; faithful: the liege adherents of a cause.

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Liege is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French li(e)ge ≪ Germanic *lēt- vassal + Latin -icus -ic; compare Medieval Latin lētī barbarians allowed to settle on Roman land (< Germanic; perhaps akin to let1), laeticus for *lēticus, derivative of lētī
Dictionary.com Unabridged

Li·ège

   [lee-eyzh; Fr. lyezh]
noun
1.
a city in E Belgium, on the Meuse River: one of the first cities attacked in World War I. 139,333.
2.
a province in E Belgium. 1,019,226; 1521 sq. mi. (3940 sq. km). Capital: Liège.
Flemish, Luik.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
liege (liːdʒ)
 
—adj
1.  (of a lord) owed feudal allegiance (esp in the phrase liege lord)
2.  (of a vassal or servant) owing feudal allegiance: a liege subject
3.  of or relating to the relationship or bond between liege lord and liegeman: liege homage
4.  faithful; loyal
 
—n
5.  a liege lord
6.  a liegeman or true subject
 
[C13: from Old French lige, from Medieval Latin līticus, from lītus, laetus serf, of Germanic origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

liege
word used by a vassal to address his superior or lord in the feudal system, c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. lige (1292), from O.Fr. liege, perhaps from L.L. laeticus "cultivated by serfs," from laetus "serf," which probably is from a Gmc. source (cf. O.E. læt "half-freedman, serf;" O.H.G. laz, O.Fris. lethar
EXPAND
"freedman"). Or the M.E. word may be directly from O.H.G. leidig "free." Hence, liege-man "a vassal sworn to the service and support of a lord, who in turn is obliged to protect him" (c.1350).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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