vassal
To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassalTo treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
» The suzerainty agreement gave the ruling state authority over its vassal.
Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(transitive)To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
(transitive)To subordinate to someone or something.
Examples
4 sentencesThe suzerainty agreement gave the ruling state authority over its vassal.
In this sense, it is said that a vassal must be faithful and loyal to his lord.
Europe today is a political vassal of the USA.
ruЕвропа сегодня — политический вассал США. — odexed
The Kremlin should go find some other country to bother besides Ukraine, like the many vassals it already has.
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manserFrom Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
vassals, vassaling, vassaled, vassaledLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle