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wapentake definition

wap·en·take (wäp′ən tāk′, wap′-)

noun

Historical in England,
  1. a subdivision of certain northern counties originally under Norse domination, corresponding to the hundred in other counties
  2. a law court in such a subdivision

Etymology: ME < OE wapentac < ON vapnatak, lit., a weapon-taking (< vapn, weapon + tak, a taking, commandeering < taka, to take): prob. used territorially from ceremony in which vassals touched the raised spear of the lord with their own as token of submission

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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