vassallus

Latin

Etymology

Extended form of vassus, from Gaulish *wassos (“young man, squire”), from Proto-Celtic *wastos (“servant”) (compare Old Irish foss and Welsh gwas).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /wasˈsal.lus/, [wasˈsal.lʊs]

Noun

vassallus m (genitive vassallī); second declension

1. vassal
2. servant

Inflection

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	vassallus	vassallī
genitive	vassallī	vassallōrum
dative	vassallō	vassallīs
accusative	vassallum	vassallōs
ablative	vassallō	vassallīs
vocative	vassalle	vassallī

Descendants

• Old French: vassal
  • Old French: vasselage, vassalage, vassallage
    • Middle French: vasselage, vasselaige, vassellage
      • French: vasselage
    • → Middle English: vasselage, vassellage, vassallage
      • English: vassalage
    • → Italian: vassallaggio
    • → Old Provençal: vassalatge
      • Old Catalan: vassallatge
        • Catalan: vassallatge
      • Occitan: vassalatge
    • → Spanish: vasallaje, vasallage
  • Middle French: vassal
    • French: vassal
      • → Czech: vazal
      • → Danish: vasal
      • → Polish: wasal
      • → Russian: васса́л (vassál); вассальный (vassalʹnyj)
        • → Armenian: վասալ (vasal)
      • → Serbo-Croatian: vàzāl
  • Norman: vassa
  • → Middle Dutch: vassael, vasael, vasal, vasseel
    • Dutch: vazal
  • → Middle English: vassal
    • Middle English: vassal, vasal
  • → Middle High German: vassal
    • German: Vassal
• Galician: vasalo
• Italian: vassallo
• Portuguese: vassalo
• Old Provençal:
  • Old Catalan: vassall, uassal, uassall, vasal
    • Catalan: vassall
  • Occitan: vassal
• Old Spanish: vasallo, uasallo, uassallo, uasiello, vassallo
  • Spanish: vasallo
• → Finnish: vasalli, vasallius; vasallimaa; vasallivaltio
• → Irish: vasáilleach

References

• du Cange, Charles (1883), “vassallus”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre