From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Liege \Liege\ (l[=e]j), a. [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 Teutonic[`e] 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.
[1913 Webster]
She looked as grand as doomsday and as grave;
And he, he reverenced his liege lady there.
--Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Old Law) Full; perfect; complete; pure. --Burrill.
[1913 Webster]
{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.]
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Liege \Liege\ (l[=e]j), n.
1. A free and independent person; specif., a lord paramount;
a sovereign. --Mrs. Browning.
[1913 Webster]
The anointed sovereign of sighs and groans,
Liege of all loiterers and malcontents. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
liege
adj 1: owing or owed feudal allegiance and service; "one's liege
lord"; "a liege subject"
n 1: a person holding a fief; a person who owes allegiance and
service to a feudal lord [syn: {vassal}, {liege},
{liegeman}, {liege subject}, {feudatory}]
2: a feudal lord entitled to allegiance and service [syn:
{liege}, {liege lord}]
3: city in eastern Belgium; largest French-speaking city in
Belgium [syn: {Liege}, {Luik}]
From German-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.3 [fd-deu-eng]:
Liege /liːgə/
couch
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