vassal
/ˈvæsəl/
vassal noun: the grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.
Noun
vassal (plural vassals)
- The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.
- The manor's vassals owed first fruits and a tithe to the parish church, another 10% to the lord (including at least 50 eels), a week or two each year of service in the manor's upkeep, and service in the local fyrd.
- It was superimposed on rules of conduct evolved at an earlier date as the spontaneous expression of class consciousness; rules that pertained to the fealty of vassals (the transition appears clearly, towards the end of the eleventh century, in the Book of the Christian Life by Bishop Bonizo of...2002, Marc Bloch, Feudal Society: Vol 2: Social Classes and Political Organisation, page 38
- Synonyms:
- feudatory, feudal tenant
- Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior.
- The king ordered his vassals to join him on the crusade unless they had a written note signed by the archbishop or pope.
- Any subordinate bound by similar close ties.
- The vassals of his anger.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
Adjective
vassal (not comparable)
- Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
- Did they, quoth you? / Who sees the heavenly Rosaline / That, like a rude and savage man of Inde / At the first opening of the gorgeous east / Bows not his vassal head and strucken blind / Kisses the base ground with obedient breast?c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Verb
vassal (third-person singular simple present vassals, present participle (US) vassaling or (UK) vassalling, simple past and past participle (US) vassaled or (UK) vassalled)
- To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
- To subordinate to someone or something.
vassal meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Punjabi
vassal in Tamil
- வேலையாள், அடிமை
vassal in Urdu
- جاگیری اسامی, مزارع, رعیت, تابع
vassal in Malayalam
- അടിമ, പ്രജ, ആശ്രിതവ്യക്തി, ദാസൻ, കുടിയാൻ
vassal in Punjabi
- vassal, feudal lord
- ਸਾਮੰਤ sāmant
Examples of vassal in a sentence
- The vassals were subject to their lords, who in turn were subject to barons or kings.
- In ancient times, repeatedly failing to pay tribute by a vassal state was often used as a casus belli by the patron.
- "And this is my vassal Mahk the Orcess," I gestured towards my imposing pet.
Synonyms of vassal
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of vassal
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | vassals |
| alternative form (rare) | vasal |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | vassals |
| present participle US | vassaling |
| present participle UK | vassalling |
| past participle US | vassaled |
| past US | vassaled |
| past participle UK | vassalled |
| past UK | vassalled |
Origin of vassal
From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Words formed from vassal
Phrases with vassal
Words that rhyme with vassal
Questions about vassal
- What does vassal mean?
- Vassal means the grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.
- What is vassal in Tamil?
- Vassal in Tamil is வேலையாள், அடிமை. See Vassal meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is vassal?
- Vassal can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce vassal?
- Vassal is pronounced /ˈvæsəl/.
- What is the plural of vassal?
- The plural of vassal is vassals.
Words near vassal in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: vassal (page history and authors); vassal (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vassal (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); vassal (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਸਾਮੰਤ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-vassal.wav.
Cite this entry: “vassal.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/vassal. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.