seigneurn.
/sɛˈnjəː/, /seɪˈnjəː/, /ˈseɪnjə/, U.S. /seɪnˈjər/ a. In French History, a feudal lord; a noble taking his designation from the name of his estate. Also transferred in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > lord > [noun] > feudal lord > European
seigneur1592
señor1845
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > lord or lady > [noun] > lord > feudal lord
lordOE
liege lord1297
seignior1393
liegec1440
seigneur1592
señor1845
flaith1861
flath1873
1592 Surv. France To Rdr. William of Saluste Seigneur of Bartas.
1876 J. R. Lowell Ode 4th July ii. i The lands no serf or seigneur ever trod.
1883 R. W. Dixon Mano iv. vii. 155 They whom distress and poverty constrain Against the seigneurs and their heavy dues To meet in conjuration, and complain.
1907 F. W. Raffety Burke's Wks. IV. Pref. 10 Every newspaper recalled the murder of a seigneur; but on the other side the sufferers were too ignoble to be known.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Ukridge vii. 156 ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ said Ukridge, with testy impatience, quite the seigneur resenting interference from an underling.
1978 A. Morice Murder by Proxy i. 20 They used to own all the land... He still sees himself as the Seigneur of the neighbourhood.
b. In Canada, the holder of a seigneury n.; one of the landed gentry.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > gentry > [noun] > gentleman > landed gentleman
country gentleman1563
seigneur1775
1775 T. Jefferson Let. 31 Oct. in Papers (1950) I. 251 This St. Luc is a great Seigneur among the Canadians, and almost absolute with the Indians.
1776 C. Carroll Jrnl. (1845) 79 These are the rich men in Canada: the seignieurs are in general poor.
1888 ‘W. Châteauclair’ Young Seigneur 2 ‘Oh, the seigneurs have not yet altogether disappeared’, said the Montrealer to the Ontarian.
c. In the Channel Islands, the lord of the manor; spec. the overlord of Sark.
ΚΠ
1694 P. Falle Acct. Isle of Jersey iv. 114 The place of Bailly being lately become vacant by the..death of Sir Philip de Carteret,..Seigneur of St. Ouen,..the States of the Island..have..chosen for Judge Delegate Philip le Geyt.
1815 T. Quayle Agric. Islands on Coast of Normandy 298 Some small specimens of copper ore are said to have been discovered... Little hope is entertained by the Seigneur of the fief [sc. Sark], that the quantity of ore will be found considerable.
1835 H. D. Inglis Channel Islands 313 The lord of Serk is the sole lay impropriator of tithes. The tithe paid to the seigneur is the tenth sheaf of wheat, barley, oats, beans, &c.
1856 C. Le Quesne Constit. Hist. Jersey ii. 31 At the Assize d'Héritage, or first day of sitting, the principal feudal seigneurs, or lords holding in capite from the Crown, are bound to appear.
1885 A. Edwardes Girton Girl I. v. 118 He had come to be Seigneur of Tintajeux through the inheritance of his Guernsey wife.
1935 E. Platt Sark as I found It ix. 67 Mr. Collings, the late Seigneur, had more than one offer during his lifetime to restart the mines.
1957 Encycl. Brit. V. 231/1 In Jersey, if a land-owner dies without a direct heir, the seigneur claims for a year and a day the income of his estate; the seigneurs of St. Ouen's and La Motte still license taverners.
1976 Times 10 Mar. (Channel Islands Suppl.) p. ii/3 You can cross to Sark where buying a freehold property depends simply on availability and the consent of the island's Seigneur.
d. In combinations.
ΚΠ
1873 R. Browning Red Cotton Night-cap Country ii. 139 To sit free and take tribute seigneur-like.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1592