liege
liege Lexical Profile
liege Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Entitled to receive feudal allegiance and service.
"He bowed deeply before his liege lord in the grand hall."
Bound to give feudal allegiance and service; loyal and faithful to a superior.
"The monarch expected her liege subjects to defend the borders of the kingdom."
• noun
A feudal superior or sovereign.
"The knights gathered at the castle to swear fealty to their new liege."
A vassal or subject who owes allegiance and service to a feudal superior.
"The king commanded all his lieges to assemble their banners for the upcoming campaign."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an autoantonym in historical contexts, 'liege' can confusingly refer either to the feudal superior (the lord) or the subordinate who owes them allegiance (the vassal).
• Rhymes for liege
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'liege', borrowed from Old French 'lige' (free, unrestrained). It likely traces back to a Germanic root denoting the reciprocal bond of service and protection between a free man and his lord.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.