droit du seigneur
noun
droit du sei·gneur
drwä-dᵫ-se-ˈnʸœr 
: a supposed legal or customary right of a feudal lord to have sexual relations with a vassal's bride on her wedding night
Examples of droit du seigneur in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Does the terrible suffering visited upon the Jewish people by Nazi Germany invest them with the rights of the martyred and grant them a kind of moral droit du seigneur?
—
Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Andrew Bevel’s motivation for publishing a memoir goes beyond that reflexive droit du seigneur Ida describes.
—Jonathan Dee, Harper's Magazine, 11 May 2022
The Count has recently abolished the feudal droit du seigneur, the legendary right of the master of an estate to sleep with his female servants on their wedding night.
—Matthew Aucoin, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2021
Fairfield refers to the company’s conduct as the online version of droit du seigneur.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
The sketches were about domestic violence, dieting, droit du seigneur, the female orgasm, and other matters.
—Emma Thompson, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2019
Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
Andrew Bevel’s motivation for publishing a memoir goes beyond that reflexive droit du seigneur Ida describes.
—Jonathan Dee, Harper's Magazine, 11 May 2022
The Count has recently abolished the feudal droit du seigneur, the legendary right of the master of an estate to sleep with his female servants on their wedding night.
—Matthew Aucoin, The Atlantic, 23 Nov. 2021
Fairfield refers to the company’s conduct as the online version of droit du seigneur.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2021
The sketches were about domestic violence, dieting, droit du seigneur, the female orgasm, and other matters.
—Emma Thompson, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'droit du seigneur.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near droit du seigneur
Cite this Entry
“Droit du seigneur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/droit%20du%20seigneur. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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