Meaning & use
vassals
Last updated
“vassals” is a form of “vassal”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
in the Middle Ages, a man who promised loyalty and military service to a lord in exchange for land
Grammar: Countable; use 'a vassal' for one and 'vassals' for more than one.
Patterns
- a vassal of a lord
- a loyal vassal
- the king's vassals
The king called his vassals to fight in the war.
Each vassal swore an oath of loyalty to the lord.
The vassals paid taxes and provided soldiers.
nouncountablefigurative
a person or country that is controlled by a more powerful one
Grammar: Often used figuratively in political contexts: a vassal state.
Patterns
- a vassal state
- a political vassal
- become a vassal of something
The smaller nation was treated as a vassal by its powerful neighbor.
He was little more than a vassal to the party leader.
Word forms
| singular | vassal |
|---|---|
| plural | vassals |
Common combinations
- swear loyalty as a vassal
- He swore loyalty as a vassal to the duke.
- a vassal state
- The empire controlled several vassal states.
- the lord's vassals
- The lord's vassals gathered in the great hall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- serf
- A serf was a poor farm worker who was tied to the land and had few rights; a vassal was a noble who served a lord in return for land.
- subject
- A subject is anyone ruled by a king or government; a vassal has a specific feudal relationship with a lord.
Opposites
Word family
- vassalage noun
- the condition or relationship of being a vassal
Commonly confused: vassals or vessel?
vassals vs vessel
A vessel is a ship or container; a vassal is a person in a feudal relationship.
Practice
In medieval Europe, a _____ received land from a lord in return for military service.
Choose one answer.
The singular 'vassal' is needed after 'a'. 'Vassals' is plural and would not follow 'a'. 'Vessel' means a ship or container, and 'vassalage' is the abstract noun for the system.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vassals”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.