Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Liege

Liege

(lēj)
,
Adj.
[OE.
lige
,
lege
, F.
lige
, LL.
ligius
,
legius
, liege, unlimited, complete, prob. of German origin; cf. G.
ledig
free from bonds and obstacles, MHG.
ledec
,
ledic
,
lidic
, freed, loosed, and Charta Ottonis de Benthem, ann. 1253, “
ligius homo
quod Teutonicè dicitur
ledigman
,” i. e., uni soli homagio obligatus, free from all obligations to others; influenced by L.
ligare
to bind. G.
ledig
perh. orig. meant, free to go where one pleases, and is perh. akin to E.
lead
to conduct. Cf.
Lead
to guide.]
1.
Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance;
as, a
liege
lord
.
Chaucer.
She looked as grand as doomsday and as grave;
And he, he reverenced his
liege
lady there.
Tennyson.
2.
serving an independent sovereign or master; bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; faithful; loyal;
as, a
liege
man; a
liege
subject.
3.
(Old Law)
Full; perfect; complete; pure.
Burrill.
Liege homage
(Feudal Custom)
,
that homage of one sovereign or prince to another which acknowledged an obligation of fealty and services.
Liege poustie
[L.
legitima potestas
]
(Scots Law)
,
perfect, i. e., legal, power; specif., having health requisite to do legal acts.
Liege widowhood
,
perfect, i. e., pure, widowhood.
[Obs.]

Liege

(lēj)
,
Noun.
1.
A free and independent person; specif., a lord paramount; a sovereign.
Mrs. Browning.
The anointed sovereign of sighs and groans,
Liege
of all loiterers and malcontents.
Shakespeare
2.
The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman.
A liege lord seems to have been a lord of a free band; and his
lieges
, though serving under him, were privileged men, free from all other obligations, their name being due to their freedom, not to their service.
Skeat.

Webster 1828 Edition


Liege

LIEGE

,
Adj.
[L. ligo, to bind; Gr. to bind, to bend; a withe.]
1.
Bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, as a vassal to his lord; subject; faithful; as a liege man. By liege homage, a vassal was bound to serve his lord against all, without excepting his sovereign; or against all, excepting a former lord to whom he owed like service.
2.
Sovereign; as a liege lord. [See the noun.]

LIEGE

,
Noun.
[supra.]
1.
A vassal holding a fee by which he is bound to perform certain services and duties to his lord.
2.
A lord or superior; a sovereign.
[Note. This is a false application of the word, arising probably from transferring the word from the vassal to the lord; the lord of liege men, being called liege lord.

Definition 2024


Liège

Liège

See also: liege, Liege, and liège

English

Proper noun

Liège

  1. A province in Wallonia, Belgium.
  2. The capital city of the province of Liège.

Translations


French

Proper noun

Liège

  1. Liège (province)
  2. Liège (city)

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈljeʂ/

Proper noun

Liège m (indeclinable)

  1. Liège (province)
  2. Liège (city)

Portuguese

Proper noun

Liège f

  1. Liège (a province of Belgium)
  2. Liège (a city, the provincial capital of Liège, Belgium)

liège

liège

See also: liege, Liege, and Liège

French

Noun

liège m (plural lièges)

  1. cork (substance)

Norman

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *levius, from Latin levis (light, unimportant).

Noun

liège m (plural lièges)

  1. (Jersey) cork
  2. (Jersey, fishing) float

Synonyms