liege
pronunciation
How to pronounce liege in British English:
UK [li:dʒ]
How to pronounce liege in American English:
US [lidʒ]
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- Noun:
- a person holding a fief
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- Adjective:
- owing or owed feudal allegiance and service
Word Origin
- liege (adj.)
- word used by a vassal to address his superior or lord in the feudal system, c. 1300, from Anglo-French lige (late 13c.), Old French lige "(feudal) liege, free, giving or receiving fidelity," perhaps from Late Latin laeticus "cultivated by serfs," from laetus "serf," which probably is from Proto-Germanic *lethiga- "freed" (cognates: Old English læt "half-freedman, serf;" Old High German laz, Old Frisian lethar "freedman"), from PIE root *le- "let go, slacken" (see let (v.)). Or the Middle English word may be directly from Old High German leidig "free." As a noun from late 14c., both as "vassal" and "lord." Hence, liege-man "a vassal sworn to the service and support of a lord, who in turn is obliged to protect him" (mid-14c.).
Example
- 1. Local news : a dangerous gangster escaped from liege prison today .
- 2. Despite david trezeguet 's brace , juventus lost their friendly3-2at standard liege last night , but didier deschamps was not disappointed .
- 3. Professor bush and his co-author denis terwagne from the university of liege in belgium have now developed a mathematical model for how the water behaves in the bowls .
- 4. Laureys , a neurologist at the university of liege in belgium , published a study in bmc neurology earlier this year saying houben could be one of many cases of falsely diagnosed comas around the world .
- 5. From this autumn , a 150 mph ice journey will shave half an hour off the trip between aachen in germany and liege in belgium , delivering passengers beneath the wavy glass roof of the spanish architect santiago calatrava 's newly constructed central station .