A historical feudal tenant or vassal, particularly one in medieval Spain or Portugal with specific rights and obligations to a lord.
From Spanish or Portuguese 'covarecan,' possibly related to Latin 'cum' (with) and 'vara' (rod or staff, symbol of authority), describing a dependent with conditional standing.
Medieval feudal hierarchies created specialized titles like 'covarecan' for every gradation of power—these words reveal how obsessed medieval society was with precisely categorizing who owed what to whom.
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