Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A nation that controls another nation in international affairs but allows it domestic sovereignty.
  • noun A feudal lord to whom fealty was due.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A feudal lord or baron; a lord paramount. Also used attributively.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A superior lord, to whom fealty is due; a feudal lord; a lord paramount.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A dominant nation or state which has control over the international affairs of a subservient state which has domestic autonomy.
  • noun A feudal land-owner to whom peasants were forced to pledge allegiance.
  • adjective Pertaining to suzerain

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a state exercising a degree of dominion over a dependent state especially in its foreign affairs

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French suserain : probably sus, up (from Latin sūrsum, sūsum, upward, from *subsvorsum, turned upward : subs-, sub-, from under; see sub– + vorsum, neuter of vorsus, variant of versus, past participle of vertere, to turn; see versus) + souverein, sovereign; see sovereign.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French suzerain, based on sus ("up, above") (< Latin sursum) with the ending of souverain (English sovereign).

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Examples

  • Khedive and the Sultan as his suzerain, which is exactly the position taken up by Lord Salisbury in his despatch of September 9, 1898.

    Khartoum Campaign, 1898 or the Re-Conquest of the Soudan Bennet Burleigh

  • The only existing continental gaming houses authorized by government are now the two Badens, Spa (of which the lease is nearly expired, and will not be renewed), Monaco (capital of the ridiculous little Italian principality, of which the suzerain is a scion of the house of "Grimaldi&"), Malmöe, in Sweden, too remote to do much harm, and HOMBOURG.

    The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims, In All Times and Countries, especially in England and in France 1870

  • Richard the Fearless, had built nearly a hundred years before -- new trouble threatened him, as word came that King Henry of France, the "suzerain," or overlord of Normandy, deeming his authority not sufficiently honored in his Norman fief, had invaded the boy's territories, and with a strong force was besieging the border castle of Tillieres, [H] scarce fifty miles to the south.

    Historic Boys Their Endeavours, Their Achievements, and Their Times Elbridge Streeter Brooks 1874

  • Back in October already, Chinese commentaries remarked on the financial crisis as being the chief reason for Britain ceding its long-term regard of China as Tibet's "suzerain" and recognizing it as its "sovereign".

    IPS Inter Press Service 2009

  • Back in October already, Chinese commentaries remarked on the financial crisis as being the chief reason for Britain ceding its long-term regard of China as Tibet's "suzerain" and recognizing it as its "sovereign."

    unknown title 2009

  • -- Feudal seignior, and suzerain, that is to say, commander-in-chief of the great resident army whose willing forces had served to reconstruct society in the ninth century, the King, through the remotest of his origins -- that is to say, through the immemorial confusion of sovereignty with property -- was the owner of France, the same as an individual owns his private domain. [

    The Modern Regime, Volume 1 Hippolyte Taine 1860

  • "suzerain," where near the main altar it was easy to obtain some gift and many benefits.

    The Knights of the Cross or, Krzyzacy Henryk Sienkiewicz 1881

  • Category: Health Care | Comment (RSS) 4 Comments morganovich: the IMAB will be the controller of rationing and service denial. the fact that they can cut anything they want without any approval by elected officials makes them pretty much suzerain of government healthcare. whether they become a “death panel” or whatever is not necessarily clear, but they certainly have to power to be.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Health Care Bill Timeline 2009

  • This could so very much be done with more actors. suzerain

    EXTRALIFE – By Scott Johnson - GENIUS starwars mashup 2008

  • Similarly, as the home of the Hamas political leadership, and as the long-time suzerain of Lebanon, the Syrian intelligence apparatus can directly control the direction and temperature of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

    David Paul: Foreign Policy, Not the Economy, May Define the Obama Presidency 2009

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