fief
Other forms: fiefs
Under the feudal system, a fief was a piece of land. This is short for fiefdom.
Words that go along with fief are vassal and feudal lord; the lord (kind of like our landlords) owned the fief and the vassal was subject to all of his rules. If you were the lord of a fief, your tenant was your servant. If you were to work on someone's farm but were paid nothing, it would be like you were working a fief. The word is not used much these days — though people still don’t like landlords much.
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a piece of land held under the feudal system
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Vocabulary lists containing fief
Vocabulary from "Beowulf" (translated by by Gummere).
Don’t know a fief from a friar? Then you'll want to study this list of terms related to medieval Europe. Take a spin through the Middle Ages and learn about the Black Plague, the Crusades, and the legendary kingdom of Camelot.
