noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/fiːf/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːf
CMU ARPABET:F IY1 F
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Land held of a superior, particularly on condition of homage, fealty, and personal service, especially military service.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, historical, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Synonym of estate: any land, when considered as a region over which the owner exercises lordly control.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: estate
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A territory, a domain, an area over which one exercises lordly control, particularly with regard to corporate or governmental bureaucracies.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a piece of land held under the feudal system
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From Middle French fief, from Old French fief, from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (whence also Old French fieu, fied), from Old Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep”), from Proto-Indo-European *peku-, *peḱu- (“sheep”). Doublet of fee, feud, and feoff.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bengali:
অওসত
(aosôt)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Bulgarian:
феодално владение
(feodalno vladenie)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Catalan:
feu
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
封地
(fēngdì)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
采邑
(càiyì)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
采地
(càidì)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
封土
(fēngtǔ)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
封邑
(fēngyì)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Chinese Mandarin:
爵土
(juétǔ)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Czech:
léno
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Danish:
len
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Dutch:
leen
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Esperanto:
feŭdo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Finnish:
läänitys
— An estate held with feudal obligations
French:
fief
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Galician:
couto
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Galician:
bacelo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Galician:
feudo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
German:
Lehen
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Hungarian:
hűbér
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Hungarian:
hűbérbirtok
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Indonesian:
kuripan
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Indonesian:
tanah seorangan
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Italian:
feudo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Japanese:
封土
(hōdo)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Latin:
feudum
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Latin:
rēgnum
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Macedonian:
феуд
(feud)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Polish:
lenno
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Polish:
feudum
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Portuguese:
feudo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Romagnol:
féud
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Romanian:
fief
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Russian:
фео́д
(feód)
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Spanish:
feudo
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Swedish:
förläning
— An estate held with feudal obligations
Turkish:
yurtluk
— An estate held with feudal obligations
