seneschal
English edit
Alternative forms edit
- seneskal (dated or rare)
Etymology edit
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 edit
Noun edit
seneschal (plural seneschals)
- A steward, particularly (historical) one in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate.
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 131:
- Beside stood seneschals, the appointed witnesses of the ensuing games.
- 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter 35, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:
- […] 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 edit
- (steward): See steward
Derived terms edit
- (office; term): seneschalship
- (office; term; purview): seneschalty
Translations edit
steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate
See also edit
- (equivalent medieval office in northern France): bailiff
Dutch edit
Noun edit
seneschal m (plural seneschallen or seneschals)
- Archaic form of seneschalk.
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
- seneschall, senyschall, senescal, senescall, synechall, syneschall, seneshal
- (Late ME) senesciall, senceall, sencial, senciall
Etymology edit
From Old French seneschal, from Medieval Latin siniscalcus, from Frankish *siniskalk, from Proto-Germanic *siniskalkaz.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
seneschal (plural seneschals)
Descendants edit
- English: seneschal
- Scots: senescall, seneschall (obsolete)
References edit
- “seneshal, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old French edit
Alternative forms edit
Noun edit
seneschal oblique singular, m (oblique plural seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative singular seneschaus or seneschax or seneschals, nominative plural seneschal)
- seneschal
- c. 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?
- Yes, I remember it well.
Descendants edit
- 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; seneschal
- → 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