noun
- a fee or feud held of a feudal lord; a tenure of land subject to feudal obligations.
- a territory held in fee.
- fiefdom.
noun
- (in feudal Europe) the property or fee granted to a vassal for his maintenance by his lord in return for service
also feoff, 1610s, from French fief (12c.) “possession, holding, domain,” a variant of Old French fieu “fee” (see fee).
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.