fiefdom

English

Etymology

fief +‎ -dom

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfiːf.dəm/

Noun

fiefdom (countable and uncountable, plural fiefdoms)

1. The estate controlled by a feudal lord; a fief.

   The duke's fiefdom had been greatly expanded as a reward for his dutiful military service on behalf of the king.

2. (by extension, chiefly derogatory) Any organization in the control of a dominant individual.

   Most of our company's computers are standardized, but the IT director allows the employees in his own little fiefdom to specify their own machines.

   • 2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     Hollande told cheering supporters in his rural fiefdom of Corrèze in south-west France that he was best-placed to lead France towards change, saying the vote marked a "rejection" of Sarkozy and a "sanction" against his five years in office.

Translations

estate controlled by a feudal lord

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 采邑 (zh) (càiyì), 封地 (zh) (fēngdì)

• Dutch: heerlijkheid (nl) f, leen (nl) n, leengoed (nl) n
• Finnish: läänitys (fi)
• French: seigneurie (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Galician: couto (gl) m, feudo m
• German: Lehenswesen
• Italian: feudo (it) m
• Russian: феод (ru) m (feod)
• Spanish: feudo (es) m

organization in the control of a dominant individual

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地盤／地盘 (zh) (dìpán), 地盘 (zh) (dìpán)

• Finnish: valtakunta (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Herrschaftsgebiet (de) n, Reich (de) n
• Spanish: feudo (es) m