seneschal en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- sĕnʹə-shəl
- /ˈsɛnəʃəl/
- (Southern-England) audio
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.
Meanings
-
A steward, particularly (historical) one in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate.
Beside stood seneschals, the appointed witnesses of the ensuing games.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 131:[…] so the very keenest seneskal can't see no sign […]
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:It was in the queer little Church of Vera Cruz, beneath the castle, that the Knights Templar performed their secret rites of chivalry, standing vigil over their arms all night, in all the mysterious splendour of seneschal, gonfalon, and accolade.
1964, Jan Morris, “Four Cities”, in Spain, Faber and Faber, published 2008, →ISBN:
- (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.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| seneskal | alternative, dated, rare | lexicographic | |
| seneschals | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
seneschalship (office, term) · seneschalty (office, term, purview)
Relateds
bailiff (equivalent medieval office in northern France)
Synonyms
steward (steward)
Translations (16)
cmn 皇室總管 /皇室总管 (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · es senescal (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · pl seneszal (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · pt senescal (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · fi senesalkki (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · ru сенеша́ль (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · fr sénéchal (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · sh senèšāl (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · de Seneschall (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · enm seneschal (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · sl senešȃl (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · axm սենեսկալ (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · la dapifer (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · io seneshalo (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · bg сенеша́л (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate) · mk сенеша́л (steward in charge of a medieval nobleman's estate)