liege
/liːd͡ʒ/noun, adjective
liege is spelled L-I-E-G-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, liege means “A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of liege is lieges.
How many letters and syllables are in liege?
| Letters | 5: L-I-E-G-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is liege?
Liege appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce liege?
- US /liːd͡ʒ/
- US /liːʒ/
Liege has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Mélange_a_trois-liege.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of liege
- lieges plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does liege mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A free and independent person; specifically, a lord paramount; a sovereign.
- 2
A king or lord.
- 3
The subject of a sovereign or lord; a liegeman.
adjective
- 1
Sovereign; independent; having authority or right to allegiance.
a liege lord
- 2
Serving an independent sovereign or master; bound by a feudal tenure; obliged to be faithful and loyal to a superior, such as a vassal to his lord; faithful.
a liege man; a liege subject
- 3
obsoleteFull; perfect; complete; pure.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Liege in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | suzerain , vassal , lige |
| German | Lehnsherr , Gefolgsmann, Vasall |
| Portuguese | senhor feudal, suserano , vassalo |
| Spanish | señor feudal , vasallo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does liege come from?
From Middle English liege, lege, lige, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (“liege, free”), from Middle High German ledic, ledec (“free, empty, vacant”) (Modern German ledig (“unmarried”)) from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz (“flexible, free, unoccupied”). Akin to Old Frisian leþeg, leþoch (“free”), Old English liþiġ (“flexible”), Old Norse liðugr (“free, unhindered”), Old Saxon lethig (“idle”), Low German leddig (“empty”), Middle Dutch ledich (“idle, unemployed”) (Dutch ledig (“empty”) and leeg (“empty”)), Middle English lethi (“unoccupied, at leisure”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).