Adjacent Words

Seneschal definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEN'ESCHAL, n. A steward; an officer in the houses of princes and dignitaries, who has the superintendance of feasts and domestic ceremonies. In some instances, the seneschal is an officer who has the dispensing of justice, as the high seneschal of England, etc.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the chief steward or butler of a great household [syn: major-domo, seneschal]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Gothic sineigs old and to Old High German scalc servant — more at senior Date: 14th century an agent or steward in charge of a lord's estate in feudal times

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the steward or major-domo of a medieval great house. 2 a judge in Sark. Etymology: ME f. OF f. med.L seniscalus f. Gmc, = old servant

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seneschal Sen"es*chal, n. [OF. seneschal, LL. seniscalcus, of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. sineigs old, skalks, OHG. scalch, AS. scealc. Cf. Senior, Marshal.] An officer in the houses of princes and dignitaries, in the Middle Ages, who had the superintendence of feasts and domestic ceremonies; a steward. Sometimes the seneschal had the dispensing of justice, and was given high military commands. Then marshaled feast Served up in hall with sewers and seneschale. --Milton. Philip Augustus, by a famous ordinance in 1190, first established royal courts of justice, held by the officers called baitiffs, or seneschals, who acted as the king's lieutenants in his demains. --Hallam.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Steward.