Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Vassal

Vassal , noun

[French, from Late Latin vassallus, vassus; of Celtic origin; compare Welsh & Corn. gwas a youth, page, servant, Arm. gwaz a man, a male. Compare Valet, Varlet, Vavasor.]

1.
(Feud. Law) The grantee of a fief, feud, or fee; one who holds land of a superior, and who vows fidelity and homage to him; a feudatory; a feudal tenant. — Burrill
2.
A subject; a dependent; a servant; a bondman; a slave.
The vassals of his anger. — Milton
Collocations (1)
Rear vassal , the vassal of a vassal; an arriere vassal.

Vassal , adjective

Resembling a vassal; slavish; servile.
The sun and every vassal star. — Keble

Vassal , transitive verb

To treat as a vassal; to subject to control; to enslave. [Obsolete] — Beau. & Fl