*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of leud

1750, from Medieval Latin leudēs pl (“vassals or followers of the king”), from Frankish *liudi (“people”), from Proto-Germanic *liudiz (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰis (“man, people”). Cognate with Old Hig

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A Frankish vassal or tenant in the Early Middle Ages.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

1750, from Medieval Latin leudēs pl (“vassals or followers of the king”), from Frankish *liudi (“people”), from Proto-Germanic *liudiz (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰis (“man, people”). Cognate with Old High German liuti (“people, subordinates”) (modern German Leute), Gothic *𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃 (*liuþs), Old English lēod (“chief, man”). Doublet of lede.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁lewdʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "leudēs",
        "g": "p",
        "t": "vassals or followers of the king"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin leudēs pl (“vassals or followers of the king”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*liudi",
        "t": "people"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *liudi (“people”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*liudiz",
        "t": "people"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *liudiz (“people”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₁léwdʰis",
        "t": "man, people"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *h₁léwdʰis (“man, people”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "liuti",
        "t": "people, subordinates"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German liuti (“people, subordinates”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Leute"
      },
      "expansion": "German Leute"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "*𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic *𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃 (*liuþs)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "lēod",
        "t": "chief, man"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English lēod (“chief, man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "lede"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of lede"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "leudēs",
      "leudes#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*liudi",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/liudi"
    ],
    [
      "*liudiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/liudiz"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁léwdʰis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁léwdʰis"
    ],
    [
      "liuti",
      "liuti#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Leute",
      "Leute#German"
    ],
    [
      "*𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃",
      "Reconstruction:Gothic/𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸𐍃"
    ],
    [
      "lēod",
      "leod#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "lede",
      "lede#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Frankish vassal or tenant in the Early Middle Ages."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "61bbaa1229a5e5f19480ce055fa0a488fcf5261411c36b6c0d12227a748b8171",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5efbff7edc63df78a7ba065df5b8a88f523fb8c36eae2b380e8d930a92a7766c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2652727
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for leud →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bGV1ZA