Nearby Words

fief

[feef] Example Sentences Origin

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:
1605–15; < French, variant of Old French fieu, fie, cognate with Anglo-French fe fee < 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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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Fief is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Example Sentences
  • For many years he has run his company as though it were a personal fief financed with shareholder money.
  • He decorated his fief with roads and health centres named after himself.
  • Leakey, accusing him of being a racist and running the wildlife service as a fief.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fief or feoff (fiːf)
 
n
(in feudal Europe) the property or fee granted to a vassal for his maintenance by his lord in return for service
 
[C17: from Old French fie, of Germanic origin; compare Old English fēo cattle, money, Latin pecus cattle, pecūnia money, Greek pokos fleece]
 
feoff or feoff
 
n
 
[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 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fief
1611, from Fr. fief, from O.Fr., a variant of fieu "fee" (see fee).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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