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 (Frankish), from Proto-Germanic *siniz (“senior”) + *skalkaz (“servant”); latter term as in marshal. As an officer of the French crown, via French sénéchal.

Noun

seneschal (plural seneschals)

1. A steward, particularly (historical) one in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate.
   • 1884, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Chapter 35

     […] so the very keenest seneskal can't see no sign […]

2. (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

• French: sénéchal (fr)
• Ido: seneshalo (io)
• Latin: dapifer c
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: senescal m
• Russian: сенеша́ль (ru) m (senešálʹ)
• Spanish: senescal m

See also

• (equivalent medieval office in northern France): bailiff

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Dutch

Noun

seneschal m (plural seneschallen or seneschals)

1. Archaic form of seneschalk.

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Old French

Alternative forms

• seneschall

Noun

seneschal oblique singular, m (oblique plural seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative singular seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative plural seneschal)

1. 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?

Descendants

• Middle French: seneschal, senechal
  • French: sénéchal
• → Middle Dutch: seneschal, seneschael
  • Dutch: seneschalk, seneschaal, seneschael, seneschalck (obsolete); seneschal (archaic)
• → Middle English: seneschal, senescall, seneschall
  • English: seneschal
  • Scots: senescall, seneschall
• → Middle High German: seneschalt
  • German: Seneschall