enfeoff

Meaning

1. (historical, transitive) To transfer a fief to, to endow with a fief; to put (a person) in legal possession of a freehold interest.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To give up completely; to surrender, to yield.

Translations

belenen

inféoder

overdragen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɛnˈfɛf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: enfeffen

Cognate with Latin: infeoffāre

Cognate with Anglo-Norman: enfeoffer

In summary

From Late Middle English enfeffen (“to grant (property, rights, etc.) under the feudal system”) [and other forms], from Old French enfeffer, enfieffer (compare Anglo-Latin infeoffāre, Anglo-Norman enfeoffer), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + fief (“estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu- (“livestock, especially sheep or cattle”)). The English word is analysable as en- + feoff.