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vassalage

American  
[vas-uh-lij] / ˈvæs ə lɪdʒ /

noun

  1. the state or condition of a vassal.

  2. homage or service required of a vassal.

  3. a territory held by a vassal.

  4. vassals collectively.

  5. dependence, subjection, or servitude.

ˈvassalage British  
/ ˈvæsəlɪdʒ /

noun

    1. the condition of being a vassal or the obligations to which a vassal was liable

    2. the relationship between a vassal and his lord

  2. subjection, servitude, or dependence in general

  3. rare vassals collectively

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • subvassalage noun

Etymology

Origin of vassalage

1275–1325; Middle English < Middle French; vassal, -age

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“There’s no statement of vassalage at the site,” says Estrada-Belli.

From National Geographic • Jan. 26, 2024

Not unexpectedly, the Song Son of Heaven declined to submit to vassalage under a man he considered a barbarian, and war broke out.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

"He would add," Madison wrote, "that domestic slavery is the most prominent feature in the aristocratic countenance of the proposed Constitution. The vassalage of the poor has ever been the favorite offspring of aristocracy."

From Salon • Jul. 30, 2021

A more pressing likelihood today, though, is that cable operators, with their entrenched position in local broadband and burgeoning Wi-Fi networks, will be the ones to reduce the cellular operators to vassalage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 18, 2015

I was a discord in Gateshead Hall: I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.