geneat
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Old English ġenēat (“companion, follower, follower in battle; dependant, vassal, tenant who works for a lord”), from Proto-Germanic *ganautaz (“comrade”), from Proto-Indo-European *newd- (“to acquire, make use of”). Cognate with West Frisian genoat (“comrade, companion”), Dutch genoot (“companion, mate”), German Genosse (“companion, comrade, fellow”), Icelandic -nautur (“comrade, companion, fellow”). More at note, neat.
Noun
geneat (plural geneat or geneats)
- (historical) A retainer; vassal; one who holds lands of a superior either by service or payment of rent.
- 1861, C. H. Pearson, Early & Middle Ages Eng. I. 201:
- The tenants, cotsetlas, geburs, and geneats, were the highest among the semiservile.
- 1872, E. W. Robertson, Hist. Ess. 101:
- The right of the husbandman was a share right, his name was Geneat or sharer in the vill.
- 1892, F. Seebohm in Hist. Rev. July 458:
- In each manor there is the same division into land in demesne and land in villainage, the inland and the geneat land.
- 1861, C. H. Pearson, Early & Middle Ages Eng. I. 201:
Derived terms
- geneatland
References
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ganautaz, equivalent to ġe- + nēat.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /je.ˈnæːɑt/
Derived terms
- bēodġenēat
- ealdġenēat
- heorþġenēat
Descendants
- → English: geneat
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