Definition of FIEF

fief

Meanings

Plural: fiefs

Noun

  • a piece of land held under the feudal system
  • Land held of a superior, particularly on condition of homage, fealty, and personal service, especially military service.
  • Synonym of estate: any land, when considered as a region over which the owner exercises lordly control.
  • A territory, a domain, an area over which one exercises lordly control, particularly with regard to corporate or governmental bureaucracies.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French fief, from Old French fief, from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (whence also Old French fieu, fied), from Old Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep”), from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”). Doublet of fee, feud, and feoff.

Synonyms

estate, fee, feoff

Scrabble Score: 10

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

Words With Friends Score: 10

fief is a valid Words With Friends word