fief

[ feef ]

noun

1. a fee or feud held of a feudal lord; a tenure of land subject to feudal obligations.
2. a territory held in fee.
3. fiefdom.

fief

/ fiːf /

noun

1. (in feudal Europe) the property or fee granted to a vassal for his maintenance by his lord in return for service

fief

1. Under feudalism , a landed estate given by a lord to a vassal in return for the vassal's service to the lord. The vassal could use the fief as long as he remained loyal to the lord.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fief¹

1605–15; < French, variant of Old French fieu, fie, cognate with Anglo-French fe fee < Germanic; compare Old High German fihu, Old English feoh cattle, property; akin to Latin pecū flock of sheep, pecus cattle, pecūnia wealth

Word History and Origins

Origin of fief¹

C17: from Old French fie , of Germanic origin; compare Old English fēo cattle, money, Latin pecus cattle, pecūnia money, Greek pokos fleece

Example Sentences

The country, they warn, is barreling into a protracted conflict that could lead to anarchy or rival fiefs, like Somalia in the 1990s or Libya after 2011.

From New York Times

He is building it out into a corrupt, theocratic fief across North Dakota and the open expanses of the Upper Midwest.

From New York Times

Disney arguably allowed Mr. Perlmutter to keep a fief long after it made financial sense to do so.

From New York Times

Mr. Monastyrsky, like Mr. Zelensky, took office pledging to root out the corruption that had long bedeviled Ukraine’s government, in particular the interior ministry’s history of operating as a separate political fief.

From New York Times

He has merged fragmentary fiefs inside its asset management division and eliminated antiquated rivalries between different groups of bankers.

From New York Times