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, 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

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnəʃəl/ enPR: sĕnʹə-shəl
• Hyphenation: sen‧e‧schal

Noun

seneschal (plural seneschals)

1. 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 […]

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

• Armenian:

  Middle Armenian: սենեսկալ (seneskal)

• Bulgarian: сенеша́л m (senešál)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 皇室總管／皇室总管

• Finnish: senesalkki (fi)
• French: sénéchal (fr)
• Ido: seneshalo (io)
• Latin: dapifer c
• Middle English: seneschal
• Polish: seneszal m
• Portuguese: senescal (pt) m
• Russian: сенеша́ль (ru) m (senešálʹ)
• Spanish: senescal m

See also

• (equivalent medieval office in northern France): bailiff

Dutch

Noun

seneschal m (plural seneschallen or seneschals)

1. Archaic form of seneschalk.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• seneschall, senyschall, senescal, senescall, synechall, syneschall, seneshal
• (Late ME) senesciall, senceall, sencial, senciall

Etymology

From Old French seneschal, from Medieval Latin siniscalcus, from Frankish *siniskalk, from Proto-Germanic *siniskalkaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛnɛstʃal/, /ˈsɛniʃal/, /ˈsɛnitʃal/, /ˈsɛniskal/

Noun

seneschal (plural seneschals)

1. A steward in charge of a nobleman's estate.
2. A viceroy; one governing in place of a ruler.

Descendants

• English: seneschal
• Scots: senescall, seneschall (obsolete)

References

• “seneshal, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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
   • 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?

Descendants

• 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