fief

[ feef ]

noun
  1. a fee or feud held of a feudal lord; a tenure of land subject to feudal obligations.

  2. a territory held in fee.

Origin of fief

1
1605–15; <French, variant of Old French fieu, fie, cognate with Anglo-French fefee <Germanic; compare Old High German fihu,Old English feoh cattle, property; akin to Latin pecū flock of sheep, pecus cattle, pecūnia wealth

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How to use fief in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fief

fief

feoff

/ (fiːf) /


noun
  1. (in feudal Europe) the property or fee granted to a vassal for his maintenance by his lord in return for service

Origin of fief

1
C17: from Old French fie, of Germanic origin; compare Old English fēo cattle, money, Latin pecus cattle, pecūnia money, Greek pokos fleece

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for fief

fief

[ (feef) ]


Under feudalism, a landed estate given by a lord to a vassal in return for the vassal's service to the lord. The vassal could use the fief as long as he remained loyal to the lord.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.