paravail

P3A1R1A1V4A1I1L1

adjective

At the bottom; lowest (said of feudal tenants).

OriginOld French par aval ← Latin per →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectiveparavail (not comparable)
  1. not comparableAt the bottom; lowest (said of feudal tenants).

    The inferior, or paravail tenants, held their lands from the barons, and the barons, or mesne lords, were the grantees of the king[…]

    1929, Radhabinod Pal, The History of the Law of Primogeniture: With Special Reference to India, Ancient and Modern
    1 more example

    Of the estate adjoining Cottesford the paravail tenants were members of the family who took their name from that village, and were resident in it, de Cotfelde or[…]

    1882, James Charles Blomfield, History of the Deanery of Bicester: History of the present deanery of Bicester, Oxon, page 59

Origin

  1. Latinvallis
  2. Latinad
  3. Latinper
  4. Old Frenchpar aval“below”
  5. Englishparavail

From Old French par aval (“below”), from par (“through”) (Latin per) + aval (“down”), from a- (Latin ad) + val (“a valley”) (Latin vallis). Compare paramount.

More words from Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with paravail

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All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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