overlord

«overlord» in Mova's school dictionary: A ruler who has power over other rulers or lords… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (an overlord, overlords)

meaning for a pupil

1) A ruler who has power over other rulers or lords, especially in the Middle Ages. tree →

2) A person or group that controls others completely; often used jokingly: "our new robot overlords". tree →

sense in the lessons

In history lessons about the Middle Ages, a king or great lord was the overlord of smaller lords, who promised loyalty and soldiers in return for land (the feudal system). In stories and films, an evil overlord rules a land cruelly. In jokes, people say "our cat is the overlord of this house".

examples

• The king was overlord of all the barons in England. tree →
• Each knight promised to fight for his overlord. tree →
• In the game, you must defeat the dark overlord of the volcano. tree →
• The local lords paid taxes to their overlord. tree →
• "All hail the cat, overlord of the sofa!" laughed Mum. tree →
• The villagers feared the cruel overlord in the castle. tree →
• His new overlord would demand the service of one of his sons. tree →

note

Countable: an overlord, overlords. Mostly a history or story word; in real modern life people rarely say it seriously. Do not confuse with "landlord" (someone who rents a home to you).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «overlord» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.