Meaning
Land held of a superior, particularly on condition of homage, fealty, and personal service, especially military service.
Etymology
Origin: Latin
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.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 26 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-09-27FDEILNU
- 2026-09-08IACEFLT
- 2026-06-25IADEFTX
- 2026-01-24ECUTIFN
- 2025-12-18IUBNFEL
- 2025-11-26IALEBFX
- 2025-08-18IBNFELX
- 2025-06-25FBNIELO
- 2025-04-29EDTGFIY
- 2025-03-26EFXONIL
- 2025-03-18FOENLIG
- 2024-12-25FALGEIN
+14 earlier appearances in the archive.