Fief definition
An example of a fief is a legal practice the Middle Ages where society was built on relationships and classes.
An example of a fief is a piece of land that is entrusted to someone for their use and the use of their heirs.
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of fief
- French from Old French feu, fief fee
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Old French fief (whence also fee), from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum, from Old Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep”), from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”). See fee for cognates.
From Wiktionary