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- Dictionaryfief/fēf/
noun
- 1. an estate of land, especially one held on condition of feudal service. historical
- 2. a person's sphere of operation or control.
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1. : a feudal estate : fee. 2. : something over which one has rights or exercises control. a politician's fief. Did you know? In European feudalism, a fief was a source of income granted to a person (called a vassal) by his lord in exchange for his services.
A fief (/ f iː f /; Latin: feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal , who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegiance, services or payments.
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. 3. fiefdom. Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Word origin.
fief, in European feudal society, a vassal ’s source of income, held from his lord in exchange for services. The fief constituted the central institution of feudal society.
Under the feudal system, a fief was a piece of land. This is short for fiefdom. Words that go along with fief are vassal and feudal lord; the lord (kind of like our landlords) owned the fief and the vassal was subject to all of his rules. If you were the lord of a fief, your tenant was your servant.
Britannica Dictionary definition of FIEF [ count ] : a large area of land that was ruled over by a lord in medieval times : a feudal estate — sometimes used figuratively
What does the noun fief mean? There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun fief . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
1. a fee or feud held of a feudal lord; a tenure of land subject to feudal obligations. 2. a territory held in fee. 3. fiefdom (def. 2). [1605–15; < French, variant of Old French fieu, fie, c. Anglo-French fe fee < Germanic]
Fief definition: a fee or feud held of a feudal lord; a tenure of land subject to feudal obligations.. See examples of FIEF used in a sentence.
Definition of fief noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
