Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

vassal

/ˈvæsəl/ noun, adjective, verb

Forms vassals vassaling vassalling vassaled vassalled vasal

  1. noun (historical, law) The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service. “The manor's vassals owed first fruits and a tithe to the parish church, another 10% to the lord (including at least 50 eels), a week or two each year of service in the manor's upkeep, and service in the local fyrd.”
  2. noun (historical) Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior. “The king ordered his vassals to join him on the crusade unless they had a written note signed by the archbishop or pope.”
  3. noun (figurative) Any subordinate bound by similar close ties.
  4. adjective Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
  5. verb (transitive) To treat as a vassal or to reduce to the position of a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave.
  6. verb (transitive) To subordinate to someone or something.

Synonyms

feudatory feudal tenant subject dependant bondsman villein serf helot thrall servant slave liege liegeman liege subject

Etymology

From Middle English vassal, from Old French vassal, from Medieval Latin vassallus (“manservant, domestic, retainer”), from Latin vassus (“servant”), from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him; a feudatory; a feudal tenant. Burrill.
  2. noun A subject; a dependent; a servant; a slave. "The vassals of his anger." Milton. Rear vassal, the vassal of a vassal; an arriere vassal.
  3. adjective Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
  4. verb To treat as a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave. [Obs.]

Etymology [F., fr. LL. vassallus, vassus; of Celtic origin; cf. W. & Corn. gwas a youth, page, servant, Arm. gwaz a man, a male. Cf. Valet, Varlet, Vavasor.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vassal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details

Sanskrit

Sanskrit dictionary entries whose meaning includes “vassal” (best matches first).