Where does “lege” come from?

lege (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege, from Vulgar Latin levius, from Latin lēvis, from Proto-Italic leɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European h₁léngʰus, from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- — light.

lege (Middle English): league; one's subjects or vassals; those under...

Definitions

  1. league; one's subjects or vassals; those under...

Ancestry of “lege”, step by step

lege traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Anglo-Norman lige

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Normanligeliege; liegeman; vassal
2Old Frenchliegeliege, servant; liege, free
3Vulgar Latinleviuscomparative degree of leviter
4Latinlēvislight, not heavy
5Proto-Italicleɣʷislight
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁léngʰuslightweight
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁lengʷʰ-light

via Latin leuca

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinleucaleague, mile
2Proto-Celtic*lougā—

via Late Latin leuca

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Late Latinleucaleague, mile

Words derived from “lege”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁lengʷʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁léngʰus →Every word from Proto-Italic leɣʷis →