What does fief mean?
Definitions for fief
fiffief
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word fief.
Princeton's WordNet
fief, feoffnoun
a piece of land held under the feudal system
Wiktionary
fiefnoun
An estate held of a superior on condition of military service.
fiefnoun
Something over which one has rights or exercises control.
fiefnoun
An area of dominion, especially in a corporate or governmental bureaucracy.
Etymology: From fief, of origin. Related to fee.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
FIEFnoun
A fee; a manor; a possession held by some tenure of a superiour.
Etymology: fief, French.
To the next realm she stretch’d her sway,
For painture near adjoining lay,
A plenteous province and alluring prey;
A chamber of dependencies was fram’d,
And the whole fief, in right of poetry, she claim’d. Dryd.As they were honoured by great privileges, so their lands were in the nature of fiefs, for which the possessors were obliged to do personal service at sea. John Arbuthnot, on Coins.
Wikipedia
Fief
A fief (; 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 and/or payments. The fees were often lands, land revenue or revenue-producing real property like a watermill, held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations.
ChatGPT
fief
A fief is a piece of land or property given by a superior, like a feudal lord or king, to a vassal in return for services or loyalty, especially during the Middle Ages in Europe. The vassal was responsible for managing, protecting, and utilizing the land and often was required to support the lord militarily when needed. This practice was a key component of the feudal system.
Webster Dictionary
Fiefnoun
an estate held of a superior on condition of military service; a fee; a feud. See under Benefice, n., 2
Etymology: [F. fief; of German origin, and the same word as E. fee. See Fee, and cf. Feud, a tief.]
Wikidata
Fief
A fee or fief was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable property or rights granted by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the personal ceremonies of homage and fealty. The fees were often lands or revenue-producing real property held in feudal land tenure: these are typically known as fiefs or fiefdoms. However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting or fishing, monopolies in trade, and tax farms.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Fief
fēf, n. land held of a superior in fee or on condition of military service: a feud. [Fr.,—Low L. feudum.]
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
fief
An estate held of a superior on condition of military service; a fee; a feud.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
FIEF
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fief is ranked #115034 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Fief surname appeared 152 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Fief.
92.1% or 140 total occurrences were White.
3.9% or 6 total occurrences were of two or more races.
Anagrams for fief »
fife
Fife
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of fief in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of fief in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for fief
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"fief." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/fief>.
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