seneschal
English
Alternative forms
- seneskal (dated or rare)
Etymology
From Middle English seneschal (recorded in English since 1393), from Old French seneschal, from Medieval Latin siniscalcus, from Frankish *siniskalk, from Proto-Germanic *siniskalkaz, from Proto-Germanic *siniz (“senior”) + *skalkaz (“servant”); latter term as in marshal. As an officer of the French crown, via French sénéchal.
Pronunciation
Noun
seneschal (plural seneschals)
- A steward, particularly (historical) one in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate.
- 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 1, page 131:
- Beside stood seneschals, the appointed witnesses of the ensuing games.
- 1884, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Chapter 35
- […] so the very keenest seneskal can't see no sign […]
- (historical) An officer of the crown in late medieval and early modern France who served as a kind of governor and chief justice of the royal court in Normandy and Languedoc.
Synonyms
- (steward): See steward
Derived terms
- (office; term): seneschalship
- (office; term; purview): seneschalty
Translations
steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate
See also
- (equivalent medieval office in northern France): bailiff
Dutch
Noun
seneschal m (plural seneschallen or seneschals)
- Archaic form of seneschalk.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- seneschall, senyschall, senescal, senescall, synechall, syneschall, seneshal
- (Late ME) senesciall, senceall, sencial, senciall
Etymology
From Old French seneschal, from Medieval Latin siniscalcus, from Frankish *siniskalk, from Proto-Germanic *siniskalkaz.
Pronunciation
Noun
seneschal (plural seneschals)
Descendants
- English: seneschal
- Scots: senescall, seneschall (obsolete)
References
- “seneshal, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French
Alternative forms
Noun
seneschal oblique singular, m (oblique plural seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative singular seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative plural seneschal)
- seneschal
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- "Oïl, mout m'an sovient il bien.
Seneschaus, savez vos an rien?- Yes, I remember it well.
- Senschal, do you know anything about it?
- "Oïl, mout m'an sovient il bien.
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
Descendants
- Middle French: seneschal, senechal
- French: sénéchal
- → Middle Armenian: սենեսկալ (seneskal), սենէսկալ (senēskal), սենեսջալ (senesǰal), սինիջալ (siniǰal), սինէգալ (sinēgal)
- → Middle Dutch: seneschal, seneschael
- Dutch: seneschalk, seneschaal, seneschael, seneschalck (obsolete), seneschal (archaic)
- → Middle English: seneschal, senescall, seneschall
- English: seneschal
- Scots: senescall, seneschall (obsolete)
- → Middle High German: seneschalc, sëneschalt, seneschlant, scheneschlant (also possibly from Middle Latin)
- German: Seneschall
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from French
- English 3-syllable words
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- Middle English terms derived from Old French
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- Middle English terms derived from Frankish
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- enm:Household
- enm:Occupations
- Old French lemmas
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- fro:Occupations