Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The power or domain of a suzerain.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The office or dignity of a suzerain; feudal supremacy; superior authority or command.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The dominion or authority of a suzerain; paramount authority.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
relation betweenstates in which asubservient nation has its owngovernment , but is unable to takeinternational action independent of thesuperior state.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the position or authority of a suzerain
- noun the domain of a suzerain
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word suzerainty.
Examples
-
In forwarding this despatch Lord Milner made the apposite comment that the propriety of employing the term suzerainty to express the rights possessed by Great Britain is an "etymological question," and Mr. Chamberlain, replying on December 15th, accepts President Krüger's declaration that he is willing to abide by the articles of the Convention, reasserts the claim of suzerainty, declines to allow foreign arbitration, and demands the immediate fulfilment of Article IV.
Lord Milner's Work in South Africa From its Commencement in 1897 to the Peace of Vereeniging in 1902 1898
-
'The word suzerainty,' he said, 'is a very vague word, and I do not think it is capable of any precise legal definition.
Historical and Political Essays William Edward Hartpole Lecky 1870
-
A suzerainty is a vague term, but in politics, as in theology, the more nebulous a thing is the more does it excite the imagination and the passions of men.
The Great Boer War Arthur Conan Doyle 1894
-
A suzerainty is a vague term, but in politics, as in theology, the more nebulous a thing is the more does it excite the imagination and the passions of men.
The War in South Africa Its Cause and Conduct Arthur Conan Doyle 1894
-
Hence, they only acknowledged China's 'suzerainty' - as opposed to sovereignty - over Tibet.
unknown title 2009
-
It would be an error both strategically and morally to accept that Russia is entitled to exercise this kind of suzerainty over its neighbours.
Georgia should not be forced to accept Russian suzerainty 2008
-
But it meant that in the British view China’s control over Tibet was limited to a condition once known as suzerainty, somewhat similar to administering a protectorate.
Have Brown and Miliband sold out Tibet for Chinese cash? 2008
-
The annexation of 1877, so bitterly condemned by him, followed by the treaty of peace of 1881, with its famous "suzerainty" clause, was, I think, but a stepping stone to the war which was said to have embittered the last years of the life of Queen Victoria.
An Autobiography Catherine Helen Spence 1867
-
Unable, however, to maintain this unity very long, they appear to have set up in the country an Assyrian dynasty, over which they claimed and sometimes exercised a kind of suzerainty, but which was practically independent and managed both the external and internal affairs of the kingdom at its pleasure.
-
The Rajah, Syud Ashruf Allee Khan, of Mahomdee, claims a kind of suzerainty over all the district, and over this pergunnah of
A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II William Sleeman 1822
avivamagnolia commented on the word suzerainty
1 a sovereign or state having some control over another state that is internally autonomous. 2 a feudal overlord.
~ The dominion of a suzerain, a ruler of a dependent state; overlordship.
~ A suzerain was a superior feudal lord to whom fealty is due; or a dominant state controlling the foreign relations of a vassal state but allowing it sovereign authority in its internal affairs.
January 18, 2009