suzerain
suzerain — noun
- suzerainsingular
- suzerainsplural
1. a country or its ruler that exercises power over a less powerful territory, espe
a country or its ruler that exercises power over a less powerful territory, especially by managing its relationships with other nations while leaving its domestic matters to its own government — for example, the Ottoman Empire acting as the suzerain over Balkan states, controlling their foreign treaties but not their local laws.
The Qing Empire was the suzerain of Korea and several other neighbouring states.
collocation: suzerain of [state]
Linh learned that the Holy Roman Empire claimed to be the suzerain over smaller territories.
collocation: suzerain over [territory]
The treaty made Russia the suzerain of the small kingdom, controlling its trade routes.
Esteban's professor explained that the Ottoman padishah was the suzerain over the Danubian principalities.
- overlord
more general term; can refer to any person or group with dominating power, not necessarily in a formal feudal or international framework
- hegemon
focuses on military and economic dominance rather than formal authority over a dependent state's foreign relations
- sovereign
emphasises full independence and supreme authority; a sovereign may or may not have dependent territories
文法句型
suzerain of [place]
suzerain over [place]
用法筆記
Most commonly found in historical and political-science writing about feudal or imperial systems. The corresponding abstract noun is 'suzerainty' ('the authority of a suzerain'). Modern international law rarely uses the term.