Adjacent Words

Liege definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIEGE, a. [L. ligo, to bind; Gr. to bind, to bend; a withe.]
1. Bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; subject; faithful; as a liege man. By liege homage, a vassal was bound to serve his lord against all, without excepting his sovereign; or against all, excepting a former lord to whom he owed like service.
2. Sovereign; as a liege lord. [See the noun.]
LIEGE, n. [supra.]
1. A vassal holding a fee by which he is bound to perform certain services and duties to his lord.
2. A lord or superior; a sovereign.
[Note. This is a false application of the word, arising probably from transferring the word from the vassal to the lord; the lord of liege men, being called liege lord.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: owing or owed feudal allegiance and service; "one's liege lord"; "a liege subject" n
1: a person holding a fief; a person who owes allegiance and service to a feudal lord [syn: vassal, liege, liegeman, liege subject, feudatory]
2: a feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service [syn: liege, liege lord]
3: city in eastern Belgium; largest French-speaking city in Belgium [syn: Liege, Luik]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French lige, from Late Latin laeticus, from laetus serf, of Germanic origin; akin to Old Frisian let serf Date: 14th century 1. a. having the right to feudal allegiance or service <his liege lord> b. obligated to render feudal allegiance and service 2. faithful, loyal II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. a vassal bound to feudal service and allegiance b. a loyal subject 2. a feudal superior to whom allegiance and service are due

Britannica Concise

In European feudal society, an unconditional bond between a man and his overlord. Thus, if a tenant held estates from various overlords, his obligations to his liege lord, to whom he had paid "liege homage," were greater than his obligations to the other lords, to whom he had paid only "simple homage." See also feudal land tenure. City (pop., 1996 est.: 191,000), E Belgium. Located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers, it was inhabited in prehistoric times and was known to the Romans as Leodium. It became a town when St. Hubert transferred his see there in 721, and it was noted as a center of learning in the Middle Ages. Annexed to France in 1795, it was later assigned with the rest of Belgium to the Netherlands in 1815. A center of the successful revolt for Belgian independence in 1830, it is now an industrial research center and a major port. In European feudal society, an unconditional bond between a man and his overlord. Thus, if a tenant held estates from various overlords, his obligations to his liege lord, to whom he had paid "liege homage," were greater than his obligations to the other lords, to whom he had paid only "simple homage." See also feudal land tenure. City (pop., 1996 est.: 191,000), E Belgium. Located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe rivers, it was inhabited in prehistoric times and was known to the Romans as Leodium. It became a town when St. Hubert transferred his see there in 721, and it was noted as a center of learning in the Middle Ages. Annexed to France in 1795, it was later assigned with the rest of Belgium to the Netherlands in 1815. A center of the successful revolt for Belgian independence in 1830, it is now an industrial research center and a major port.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. usu. hist. --adj. (of a superior) entitled to receive or (of a vassal) bound to give feudal service or allegiance. --n. 1 (in full liege lord) a feudal superior or sovereign. 2 (usu. in pl.) a vassal or subject. Etymology: ME f. OF lige, liege f. med.L laeticus, prob. f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Liege Liege (l[=e]j), a. [OE. lige, lege, F. lige, LL. ligius, legius, liege, unlimited, complete, prob. of German origin; cf. G. ledig free from bonds and obstacles, MHG. ledec, ledic, lidic, freed, loosed, and Charta Ottonis de Benthem, ann. 1253, ``ligius homo quod Teutonic[`e] dicitur ledigman,'' i. e., uni soli homagio obligatus, free from all obligations to others; influenced by L. ligare to bind. G. ledig perh. orig. meant, free to go where one pleases, and is perh. akin to E. lead to conduct. Cf. Lead to guide.] 1. Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance; as, a liege lord. --Chaucer. She looked as grand as doomsday and as grave; And he, he reverenced his liege lady there. --Tennyson. 2. Serving an independent sovereign or master; bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; faithful; loyal; as, a liege man; a liege subject. 3. (Old Law) Full; perfect; complete; pure. --Burrill. Liege homage (Feudal Custom), that homage of one sovereign or prince to another which acknowledged an obligation of fealty and services. Liege poustie [L. legitima potestas] (Scots Law), perfect, i. e., legal, power; specif., having health requisite to do legal acts. Liege widowhood, perfect, i. e., pure, widowhood. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Liege Liege (l[=e]j), n. 1. A free and independent person; specif., a lord paramount; a sovereign. --Mrs. Browning. The anointed sovereign of sighs and groans, Liege of all loiterers and malcontents. --Shak. 2. The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman. A liege lord seems to have been a lord of a free band; and his lieges, though serving under him, were privileged men, free from all other obligations, their name being due to their freedom, not to their service. --Skeat.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Bound by feudal tenure (to service, as a vassal; or to protection, as a lord). II. n. Superior, sovereign, liege lord.

Moby Thesaurus

ardent, bondmaid, bondman, bondslave, bondsman, bondswoman, boss, bwana, captive, chattel, chattel slave, chef, chief, church dignitary, churl, client, concubine, constant, creature, debt slave, dependent, ecclesiarch, elder, employer, feudal, feudatory, flunky, follower, galley slave, goodman, guru, hanger-on, helot, homager, husband, inferior, lackey, liege lord, liege man, liege subject, lord, lord paramount, loyal, master, minion, myrmidon, odalisque, overlord, padrone, paramount, paterfamilias, patriarch, patron, peon, rabbi, resolute, retainer, sahib, seigneur, seignior, serf, servant, servile, slave, starets, staunch, steadfast, stooge, subject, subordinate, subservient, teacher, theow, thrall, tributary, true, underling, understrapper, vassal, villein, yeoman