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liege

 - 5 dictionary results
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liege

  [leej, leezh]
Use liege in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF li(e)ge ≪ Gmc *lēt- vassal + L -icus -ic; cf. ML lētī barbarians allowed to settle on Roman land (< Gmc; perh. akin to let 1 ), laeticus for *lēticus, deriv. of lētī
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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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To liege
liege   (lēj)   
n.  

  1. A lord or sovereign to whom allegiance and service are due according to feudal law.

  2. A vassal or subject owing allegiance and services to a lord or sovereign under feudal law.

  3. A loyal subject to a monarch.

adj.  

    1. Entitled to the loyalty and services of vassals or subjects: a liege lord.

    2. Bound to give such allegiance and services to a lord or monarch.

  2. Loyal; faithful.


[Middle English, from Old French, entitled to feudal allegiance, from Late Latin laeticus, being a semifree colonist in Gaul, from laetus, a semifree colonist, of Germanic origin; see lē- in Indo-European roots.]
Li·ège   (lē-āzh', lyězh)   
A city of eastern Belgium near the Dutch and German borders. First mentioned in 558, it was a noted intellectual center in the Middle Ages. Liège was held by France from 1794 to 1815 and by the Netherlands from 1815 to 1830. Population: 189,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

liege 
word used by a vassal to address his superior or lord in the feudal system, 1297, 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 "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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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