seigneur

noun

sei·​gneur sān-ˈyər 

often capitalized

1

: a man of rank or authority

especially : the feudal lord of a manor

2

: a member of the landed gentry of Canada

Examples of seigneur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gianfranco was every inch the grand seigneur but without the pretense. —John Mariani, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

The Patriots have lost five of six to Bills uber-QB Josh Allen, the reigning signal-caller seigneur of the AFC East. —Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Jan. 2023

One is of course of George himself in gorgeous silver and velvet, a huge canvas that tested Lawrence’s skill in portraying him as a grand seigneur in the manner of the Sun King (see illustration on page 28). —Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New York Review of Books, 28 May 2020

Sometime after the panel in Oslo, Searle was dishonorably discharged from his emeritus position at UC Berkeley for allegedly leveraging his branding as a genius to assert droit de seigneur and exploit, abuse, and assault a young woman. —Wired, 20 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Medieval Latin senior, from Latin, adjective, elder — more at senior

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seigneur

• droit du seigneur

Kids Definition

seigneur

noun

sei·​gneur sān-ˈyər 

often capitalized

: lord entry 1 sense 1, seignior