vassal

noun

vas·​sal ˈva-səl 

1

: a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom they have vowed homage and fealty : a feudal tenant

2

: one in a subservient or subordinate position

vassal adjective

Examples of vassal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the time, while the Zhou royal house nominally ruled the Central Plains, their vassal states competed with one another for resources. —Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 8 Apr. 2026

Joe Garcia, a former Democratic congressman from Florida who has been involved in Cuba-U.S. relations for decades, believed that the regime’s leaders would not easily accept the image of their country as a vassal state. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2026

The group has made much of Europe into vassal states that have supported and extended American foreign policy around the globe. —David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 Jan. 2026

And anything bordering on colonial or Cold War language—protectorate, satellite state, occupied territory, vassal state, provisional government, client—are pretty much non-starters with the foreign policy establishment that knows these things seldom end well for the bigger power. —Philip Elliott, Time, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin vassallus "serf of the manor house, household servant, lord's man who has received a fief," borrowed from Gaulish *wassall-, derivative of *wass- "servant" (whence Medieval Latin vassus "serf, servant, holder of a fief"), going back to Celtic *wosto-, whence Welsh gwas "boy, servant," Middle Breton goas, Old Irish foss "servant, attendant"

Note: Celtic *wasto- is generally taken to continue Indo-European *upo-sth₂-o- "one who stands under," which may be correct if Gaulish *wass- shares with British Celtic unrounding of o in this position.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for vassal

• castle
• facile
• gracile
• hassall
• hassle
• passel
• tassel
• fluorouracil
• thiouracil
• forecastle
• uracil
• propylthiouracil

Kids Definition

vassal

noun

vas·​sal ˈvas-əl 

: a person in the Middle Ages who received protection and land from a lord in return for loyalty and service