繩子的上端：受人效忠的那一位
站在結的上端。字源的「自由」正好落在這一側：上面沒有別人管著他。
noun · C2
In the Middle Ages, a lord that a person had sworn to serve and obey; also used when speaking to him, as in 'my liege'.
君主／領主
核心畫面
One way to hold it: a knot tied by an oath, with a person at each end. One and promises service; the other receives it and promises protection. English gave the knot only one name, so the same word can point up the rope or down it, and the little words around it — my, your, his, their — are what tell you which end you are looking at.
可以想成一條由誓言打成的結，兩端各站一個人。一端跪下來承諾效力，另一端接受效忠、也承諾保護。英文只給了這條結一個名字…更多收起
可以想成一條由誓言打成的結，兩端各站一個人。一端跪下來承諾效力，另一端接受效忠、也承諾保護。英文只給了這條結一個名字，所以同一個字可以往上指，也可以往下指。要判斷方向，看旁邊的 my、your、his、their，還有它後面接的是 lord 還是 man。From the word’s history
From Middle English liege, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (liege, free), from Middle High German ledic (free, empty, vacant). The oldest idea in the word is free — which fits the lord at the top of the rope, the one with nobody above him.
中古英文 liege 來自盎格魯諾曼語 lige，再往前是古法文 liege（自由的），源頭是中古高地德語 ledic（自由、空著的）。這個字最早的意思是「自由」，正好對上繩子最上端那一位——上面沒有人管的領主。
Wiktionary entry supplied in this packet (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:652427228), etymology_text: From Middle English liege, lege, lige, from Anglo-Norman lige, from Old French liege (liege, free), from Middle High German ledic, ledec (free, empty, vacant), from Proto-Germanic *liþugaz.
Two branches
繩子的下端：立誓服侍的那一側
同一條結，從上往下看。英文沒有換字，所以看到 liege 時要先確認方向。
noun · C2
In the Middle Ages, a person who had sworn to serve and obey a lord.
臣屬／封臣