Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
One of the legendary “twelve peers” or renowned warriors of Charlemagne, the Emperor of the Romans from 800 to 814.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical, in-plural, rare
Topics: fiction, literature, media, publishing
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
One of the twelve nobles granted feudal territories or episcopal sees by the King of France in return for their fealty (namely the Archbishop-Duke of Rheims; the Bishop-Dukes of Laon and Langres; the Bishop-Counts of Beauvais, Chalons, and Noyon, the Dukes of Normandy, Burgundy, and Aquitaine; and the Counts of Toulouse, Flanders and Champagne).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, historical, in-plural, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: paladin
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A person considered to be like or in the model of Charlemagne’s peers; someone considered a great hero or paladin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, in-plural, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English dosse per, dousse-per (“one of Charlemagne’s twelve peers or paladins; one of the twelve great peers of France at later times; a famous knight or noble”) [and other forms], treated as a singular form of dosse pers, dousse pers [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman, Middle French douse pers, douze pers [and other forms], and Old French douze pers, doze pers, duze pers (“Charlemagne’s twelve peers; twelve great peers of France at later times”) [and other forms] (also in the singular forms doze per, duze per, and in Anglo-Norman and Middle French written with a Roman numeral as XII pers), from doze, douze (“twelve”) (modern French douze) + pers (plural of per (“peer”); modern French pair). Doze is derived from Latin duodecim (“twelve”), from duo (“two”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh1 (“two”)) + decem (“ten”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ (“ten”)); per is derived from Latin pār (“equal; like”).
Across languages
10 source translations are retained for this English entry.
