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
lordChaucer.
She looked as grand as doomsday and as grave;
And he, he reverenced his
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.
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.
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.