vassal
- noun
- /ˈvæsəl/
- During the feudal era, a vassal pledged loyalty to a lord in exchange for land and protection.
- vassal kingdom
- vassal king
- vassal state
You can be a Prince again, you just have to become my vassal.
- You can be a Prince again, you just have to become my vassal.
Examples
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The most elite of these were the Farbas, or great Brave men, who acted as chief vassals and governors.
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So the general idea here is you have this system with the daimyo at the top, this network of vassals that goes down the chain.
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A little money for the old country, even if it was now a vassal state of the Soviet empire.
Fiction book (1999) -
You, sir, are not one of my vassals.
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Those are my vassals and obey my orders!
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Each was governed by a local satrap, a khashthrapavan, or vassal king.
Academic text (2007) -
Gaining for Rome a vassal Jewish kingdom that keeps order, that keeps Parthia at bay without the cost of military occupation?
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Josiah Menasha was apparently a loyal vassal of Assyria.
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The controversy hinges in part on whether vassal states were omitted from tribal inheritances.
Academic text (1992) -
Forced to desert its allegiance to the Ming, Chosŏn Korea became a vassal state of the Qing.
Academic text (2015)
Synonyms
A person who holds land and must give loyalty and service to a lord
A person who holds land and owes loyalty and service to a lord
A woman who holds land from a lord and owes him service and loyalty
A person who owes loyalty and service to a lord in medieval times
A man who promises to serve and be loyal to a lord
How Powerful
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word vassal comes from an old word meaning 'servant' or 'young man', and in the Middle Ages it named a person who held land from a lord and promised 'service' and loyalty in return.