manrent

M3A1N1R1E1N1T1

noun

A contract, usually military and between Scottish clans, in which a weaker man or clan pledged to serve, in return for protection, a stronger lord or clan.

OriginMiddle Scots manrent ← Early Scots manredyn ← Old English manrǣden →
Scrabble 9
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Meanings

nounmanrent (countable and uncountable, plural manrents)

plural manrents

  1. ScotlandcountablehistoricaluncountableA contract, usually military and between Scottish clans, in which a weaker man or clan pledged to serve, in return for protection, a stronger lord or clan.

    Although there is no precise statistical analysis of assythments, bonds of manrent were only very rarely used in such circumstances.

    2003, Christine Peters, Women in Early Modern Britain, 1450-1640, page 25

Origin

  1. Old Englishmanrǣden
  2. Early Scotsmanredyn
  3. Middle Scotsmanrent
  4. Englishmanrent

Borrowed from Middle Scots manrent, from Early Scots manredyn, from Old English manrǣden. Doublet of manred.

More words from Middle Scots, Early Scots, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

remnant
Cite this entry
APA

manrent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/manrent

MLA

“manrent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/manrent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “manrent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/manrent.

Source: manrent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.