fief

noun

ˈfēf 

1

: a feudal estate : fee

2

: something over which one has rights or exercises control

a politician's fief

Did you know?

In European feudalism, a fief was a source of income granted to a person (called a vassal) by his lord in exchange for his services. The fief usually consisted of land and the labor of peasants who were bound to cultivate it. The income it provided supported the vassal, who was obliged to fight for his lord as a knight.

Synonyms

• area
• arena
• bailiwick
• barony
• business
• circle
• demesne
• department
• discipline
• domain
• element
• fiefdom
• field
• firmament
• front
• game
• kingdom
• line
• precinct
• province
• realm
• specialty
• sphere
• terrain
• walk

Examples of fief in a Sentence

the logistics of the relief effort is the director's fief

Recent Examples on the Web

Syria’s many minorities The immediate post-Assad threat is that Syria might collapse into separate militia fiefs or into another civil war. —Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 11 Dec. 2024

The immediate post-Assad threat is that Syria might collapse into separate militia fiefs or into another civil war. —Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 10 Dec. 2024

Arnaboldi himself enthused about the rarity of Le Logis in the heart of France’s Cognac region, and which is surrounded by 25 acres of vineyards and built in the fief of Frêsne, which was established around 1330. —Sofia Celeste, WWD, 3 Sep. 2019

Shōgun is all about what transcends culture and what stays firmly in its own fief. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French — more at fee

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

fief

noun

ˈfēf 

: a feudal estate