seigneur

[ seen-yur, seyn-; French se-nyœr ]

noun

, (sometimes initial capital letter)

, plural sei·gneurs [seen-, yurz, seyn-, se-, nyœr].

1. a lord, especially a feudal lord.
2. (in French Canada) a holder of a seigneury.

seigneur

/ sɛˈnjɜː; sɛɲœr /

noun

1. a feudal lord, esp in France
2. (in French Canada, until 1854) the landlord of an estate that was subdivided among peasants who held their plots by a form of feudal tenure

Derived Forms

• seiˈgneurial, adjective

Other Words From

• sei·gneu·ri·al [seen-, yur, -ee-, uh, l, seyn-], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of seigneur¹

1585–95; < French < Vulgar Latin *senior lord. See senior

Word History and Origins

Origin of seigneur¹

C16: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin senior, from Latin: an elderly man; see senior

Example Sentences

He wearies the young men of his city in athletic contests, and when they marry he insists on the droit du seigneur: he, not the groom, spends the wedding night with the bride.

From The New Yorker

The university is one of the last domains of hierarchy, its Marxist residents notwithstanding, and hierarchy has always been conducive to the droit du seigneur.

From Wall Street Journal

Women are not legally chattel, even if many still face the kind of droit de seigneur attitude of entitlement from powerful men.

From New York Times

Nearly 80 years later, that aroma of perversion and maladroit du seigneur clings to Hollywood.

From New York Times

A petition from women demanding that the United States introduce droit de seigneur.

From Washington Post