Meanings
liege1
plural lieges
- A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign.
- A king or lord.
Kings, my liege, may take a lesson from him
1826, [Walter Scott], Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC1 more example
More health and happiness betide my liege / Than can my care-tuned tongue deliver him!
1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act 3, scene 2]
- not comparableSovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance.
a liege lord
1 more example
She look'd as grand as doomsday and as grave: / And he, he reverenced his liege lady there;
1847, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page number, or |part=Prologue, I to VII, or conclusion)”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC - not comparableobsoletelawFull; perfect; complete; pure.
it was a release by Katherine de Ros in her liege widowhood to Sir Thomas de Stirkeland
1908, Daniel Scott (of Penrith), Stricklands of Sizergh Castle
Liege2
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveowing or owed feudal allegiance and service
nouna person holding a fief; a person who owes allegiance and service to a feudal lord
nouna feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*lētaz“freeman; bondsman, serf”
- Gothic*𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃
- Latinlaetus“a semi-free colonist”
- Late Latinlaeticus“of or relating to a semifree colonist in Gaul”
- Proto-Germanic*liþugaz“flexible, free, unoccupied”
- Middle High Germanledic
- Old Frenchliege“liege, free”
- Anglo-Normanlige
- Middle Englishliege
- Englishliege
From Middle English liege, lege, lige, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (“liege, free”), from Middle High German ledic, ledec (“free, empty, vacant”) (Modern German ledig (“unmarried”)) from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz (“flexible, free, unoccupied”). Akin to Old Frisian leþeg, leþoch (“free”), Old English liþiġ (“flexible”), Old Norse liðugr (“free, unhindered”), Old Saxon lethig (“idle”), Low German leddig (“empty”), Middle Dutch ledich (“idle, unemployed”) (Dutch ledig (“empty”) and leeg (“empty”)), Middle English lethi (“unoccupied, at leisure”). An alternate etymology traces the Old French word to Late Latin laeticus (“of or relating to a semifree colonist in Gaul”), from Latin laetus (“a semi-free colonist”), from Gothic *𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*lēts) (attested in derivatives such as 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌻𐌴𐍄𐍃 (fralēts)), from Proto-Germanic *lētaz (“freeman; bondsman, serf”), from *lētaną (“to let; free; release”).
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian васал, васалски
- васал (vasal)the subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- васалски (vasalski)serving an independent sovereign or master
Catalan senyor, vassall
- senyora free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vassallthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Czech lenní pán, vazal
- lenní pána free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vazalthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Dutch leenheer, soeverein
- leenheera free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- soevereina free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vazalthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- leenmanthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Esperanto feŭdestro
- feŭdestroa free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
Finnish lääninherra, vasalli
- lääninherraa free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vasallithe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
French suzerain, vassal
- suzeraina free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vassalthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- ligesovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance
- ligeserving an independent sovereign or master
German Lehnsherr, Gefolgsmann
- Lehnsherra free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- Gefolgsmannthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- Vasallthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Hungarian hűbérúr, hűbéres
- hűbérúra free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- hűbéresthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- vazallusthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
- hűbér-sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance
- hűbéresserving an independent sovereign or master
- hűbériserving an independent sovereign or master
Italian vassallo
- vassallothe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Portuguese senhor feudal, suserano
- senhor feudala free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- suseranoa free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vassalothe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Romanian suzeran, senior
- suzerana free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- seniora free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vasalthe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Russian сеньо́р
- сеньо́р (senʹór)a free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
Spanish señor feudal, vasallo
- señor feudala free and independent person; a lord paramount; a sovereign
- vasallothe subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with liege
All rhymes →Cite this entry
liege. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liege
“liege.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liege. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “liege,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/liege.
Source: liege on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.