Vassal

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -æsÉ™l

Alternative forms

• vasal rare

Origin

From Middle English, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus ("manservant, domestic, retainer"), from vassus ("servant"), from Gaulish *wassos ("young man, squire"), from Proto-Celtic *wastos ("servant") (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).

Noun

1. (historical) The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who keeps land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him, normally a lord of a manor; a feudatory; a feudal tenant.
2. A subject; a dependant; a servant; a slave.
• MiltonThe vassals of his anger.

Related terms

• valet
• varlet

Full definition of vassal

Adjective

1. Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.

Verb

1. (transitive) To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
2. (transitive) To subordinate to someone or something.

Anagrams

• slavas
• vasals