vassal
(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.
of, relating to, or characteristic of a vassal.
having the status or position of a vassal.
Origin of vassal
1Other words from vassal
- vas·sal·less, adjective
- non·vas·sal, noun
- sub·vas·sal, noun
- un·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. 2024
How to use vassal in a sentence
Rivals can become vassals who do your bidding in exchange for your championing their wee causes.
The kiss also served as a sign of trust between feudal lords and vassals.
Hemingburgh makes Bruce speak to his father's vassals before the Irvine episode as a Scotsman, at any rate by descent.
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. MurisonHe was needed to set right his barony, for he himself grew weak and his vassals quarrelsome.
God Wills It! | William Stearns DavisAnd Herbert began to call to arms the vassals of the barony, and chuckled when he thought of the brave times ahead.
God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
The great vassals, veritable sovereigns, entrenched in their duchies, laughed at the impotent authority of the King.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueBut for a moment it seemed just possible that some of his vassals would break out in spite of him.
The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram
British Dictionary definitions for vassal
/ (ˈvæsəl) /
(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
a person, nation, etc, in a subordinate, suppliant, or dependent position relative to another
(as modifier): vassal status
of or relating to a vassal
Origin of vassal
1Derived forms of vassal
- vassal-less, adjective
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
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.
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