liege English · revision 1016

11 Oct 2026, 04:51 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /liːd͡ʒ/, /liːʒ/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|liege]], [[bor|fro|liege]], ''lige'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps from [[la-lat|laeticus|t=cultivated by serfs]], from ''laetus'' “a semi-free colonist”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) of Germanic origin and related to Old English ''lǣt'' “half-freedman” and Old Frisian ''lēt'' “serf”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) Weekley derives it instead from German ''ledig'' “free”.^(Etymonline) It was popularly associated with Latin ''ligāre'' “to bind”.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Of a lord, entitled to feudal allegiance and service (1292).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The adjective described both sides of the feudal bond, protection in exchange for service:^(Etymonline) of the superior, entitled to allegiance (1292), and of the vassal, bound to render it (14th century).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) As a noun it likewise meant both a vassal (1377) and a feudal lord (about 1400).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) In a wider sense a ''liege'' is a loyal subject of the king,^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and the adjective came to mean simply “loyal, faithful” (1478).^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1292 – of a lord, entitled to allegiance.^(OED 1989)
+ * 14th century – of a vassal, bound to allegiance.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1377 – noun, a vassal.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * c. 1400 – noun, a feudal superior.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1478 – adjective, loyal, faithful.^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A lord or [[sovereign]] to whom allegiance and service are due under [[feudalism|alt=feudal]] law.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A [[vassal]] or subject bound to give allegiance and service to a lord; also, a loyal subject of a monarch.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Entitled to the allegiance and service of vassals or subjects, as in ''liege lord''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Bound to give such allegiance and service.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Loyal; faithful.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[liegeman]]
+ * [[allegiance]]
+ * [[vassal]]
+ * [[fealty]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}