Crossword Genius

Young woman raised south of Virginia as servant (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

vassal

'servant' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'young woman raised south of virginia' is the wordplay.
'young woman' becomes 'lass' (lass is a kind of young woman).
'raised' is a reversal indicator.
'south of' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'virginia' becomes 'va' (US state abbreviation).
'lass' in reverse letter order is 'ssal'.
'ssal' after 'va' is 'VASSAL'.

'as' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for vassal that I've seen before include "A medieval servant" , "A humble servant as of 9 Down" , "Medieval land-holder" , "Subordinate person or country" , "Subordinate landholder" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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