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OP
the worthless word for the day is: suzerainty
[F. suzeraineté] /SU zeh ren tee/
the dominion of a suzerain: overlordship
I love this word, tsuwm -- could you please parse its etymology?
http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/
OED merely comments: Appears first in Fr. or semi-Fr. form.; suggesting it appeared out of thin air.
W3, more helpfully, suggests it is related to sovereign.
A-H gives a goodly etymology of suzerain.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
So, it is like Syria then?
Interesting. It made me think of 'substitute' with 'reign'.
Another scource gives: the word appeared first in English litterature, somewhere before 1010. I think the Emperor Charles V could be called a Suzerain. He was overlord, Emperor of a good number of 'domains':Spain,Austria, Germany, the Netherlands,meaning Holland and Belgium at that time.Maybe even some city states in Italy?
It was him and his son Philip II 'we' fought in the 80-years'war and got them out.
The word has a French ring to it :souverain. Could it have to do with soumettre ?- to subject to, or with sauver- save. Offering protection in exchange for fealty? Yes,I've always like that word too,suzerain, it makes me think of raspberry flavored candy.A sour-sweet word.
(could it be applied to any present ruler really?)(not the candy!)
OP Quote:
A-H gives a goodly etymology of suzerain.
Thanks. I should have checked. So it's cognate with sovereign.
Quote:Quote:
A-H gives a goodly etymology of suzerain.
Thanks. I should have checked. So it's cognate with sovereign.
"probably"
Gah--I really can't keep a thought in my head! I was thinking sous, French for under, not substitute! [smacking forehead e]
Sub-(under)-reign. Geez.
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