chief lord

English

Noun

chief lord (plural chief lords)

1. (law, historical) Synonym of overlord: the lord of a fee immediately owed personal service or rent by a tenant, a tenant's liege lord.
   • 1728, E. Chambers, Cyclopaedia, Service:

     Forinsec, or Extrinsec, or Regal Service, was a Service which did not belong to the chief Lord, but to the King.

   • 1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 183:

     Chief lord, the feudal lord, or lord of an honour on whom others depend.

   • 1857, Thomas Wright, Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English:

     land-male, a reserved rent charged upon a piece of land by the chief lord of the fee, or a subsequent mesne owner.

   Most feudal obligations were owed to the chief lord of the estate, but others were owed only and directly to the king of the realm.

2. (inexact) Synonym of overlord: a lord over other lords, a lord paramount.

   The chief lord over all other lords was the king.