seigneur

A seigneur (French pronunciation: [sɛɲœʁ] ) or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of title or land tenure—as a fief, with its associated obligations and rights over person and property. In this sense, a seigneur could be an individual—male or female, high or low-born—or a collective entity, typically a religious community such as a monastery, seminary, college, or parish. Seigneurialism was repealed in Acadia in 1733, France in 1789 and the Province of Canada in 1854. Since then, the feudal title has only been applicable in the Channel Islands and for sovereign princes by their families.