fief
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Old French fief borrowed from Medieval Latin feudum.
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /fiːf/
- Rhymes: -iːf
- Homophone: thief (in accents with th-fronting)
[edit] Noun
fief (plural fiefs)
- An estate held of a superior on condition of military service.
- Something over which one has rights or exercises control.
- (metaphor) An area of dominion, especially in a corporate or governmental bureaucracy.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
[edit] See also
Fief in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
From Old French fief, borrowed from Medieval Latin fevum[1], a variant of feudum, from Old Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep”), from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”). Cognate with Old High German fihu (“cattle, neat”), Old English feoh (“cattle, property, money”). More at fee.
[edit] Pronunciation
- IPA: /fjɛf/
[edit] Noun
fief m. (plural fiefs)
[edit] Related terms
[edit] References
- ^ Jacqueline Picoche, Jean-Claude Rolland, Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris 2009, Dictionnaires Le Robert, ISBN 978-2-84902-424-9
