MEANING
An estate or other grant held from a feudal superior in return for obligations of service.
Use it for
land exchanged for service; inheritance obligations; territorial powerTie ownership or tenure to what a character must provide.
Words that belong together
- grant a fief
- hereditary fief
- hold a fief
On the page
Her fief included three villages and one unreliable bridge.
The lord granted a fief that the river had already swallowed.
He owed mounted soldiers for the fief he had inherited.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- fief
Usage notes
Primary category: fantasy. Not necessarily an independent kingdom; figuratively a domain controlled by one influential person. Noun: fief; plural fiefs.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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