Definition of ENFEOFF

enfeoff

Meanings

Plural: enfeoff, enfeoffed

Verb

  • put in possession of land in exchange for a pledge of service, in feudal society
    • "He enfeoffed his son-in-law with a large estate in Scotland"
  • To transfer a fief to, to endow with a fief; to put (a person) in legal possession of a freehold interest.
  • To give up completely; to surrender, to yield.

Origin / Etymology

From Late Middle English enfeffen (“to grant (property, rights, etc.) under the feudal system”) [and other forms], from Old French enfeffer, enfieffer (compare Anglo-Latin infeoffāre, Anglo-Norman enfeoffer), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + fief (“estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”)). The English word is analysable as en- + feoff.

Synonyms

cede, feoff

Scrabble Score: 16

enfeoff is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
enfeoff is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
enfeoff is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 17

enfeoff is a valid Words With Friends word