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Gulliver’s Travels vocabulary
9 famous people mentioned
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vassal
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synonyms: vavasour ???
► definition
Definition:a person (or country) who pays obsequious homage to an overlord in exchange for their protection1. (Feudal Law) The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him; a feudatory; a feudal tenant.2. A subject; a dependent; a servant; a slave.Noah Webster. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
► uses
Uses:
“since I was now her majesty’s most humble creature and vassal, I must beg the favour, that Glumdalclitch, who had always tended me with so much care and kindness, and understood to do it so well, might be admitted into her service, and continue to be my nurse and instructor.”
Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels Into Several Remote Regions of the World (1726)
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Though I am not jealous of the glory and power which surrounds you, I cannot submit to the dishonour of being regarded as a vassal. Your Majesty governs the greatest part of Europe, but your dominion does not extend to the nation which I have been called to govern; my ambition is limited to the defence of Sweden.
Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne. Memoirs of Napoleon — Volume 11
[1810 letter from Bernadotte to Napoleon]
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Overshadowed by the tall trees which stood close around it, an ‘ornamental water’ had been constructed by Swann’s parents but, even in his most artificial creations, nature is the material upon which man has to work; certain spots will persist in remaining surrounded by the vassals of their own especial sovereignty,
Marcel Proust. In Search of Lost Time [volume 1] Swann’s Way
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I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage.
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