fief

Meaning

1. (countable, historical, uncountable) Land held of a superior, particularly on condition of homage, fealty, and personal service, especially military service.
2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Synonym of estate: any land, when considered as a region over which the owner exercises lordly control.
3. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) A territory, a domain, an area over which one exercises lordly control, particularly with regard to corporate or governmental bureaucracies.

Synonyms

feoff

feud

fiefdom

manor

feudatory

daimiate

feudal estate

ancestral lands

estate

votchina

esteem

honor

patrimony

realm

respect

Translations

fief

feudo

leengoed

leen

Lehen

feudo

Lehensgut

feu

feudo

tımar

zeamet

seigneurie

landgoed

φέουδο

τιμάριο

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fiːf/

Etymology

Cognate with Old French: fieu

In summary

From Middle French fief, from Old French fief, from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (whence also Old French fieu, fied), from Old Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep”), from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”). Doublet of fee, feud, and feoff.