fee
- fee
\ \ [14] Fee is a word bequeathed to modern English by the feudal system (and indeed it is closely related etymologically to feudal). It came via Anglo-Norman fee from medieval Latin feodum or feudum (source also of feudal [17]). This denoted ‘land or other property whose use was granted as a reward for service’, a meaning which persists in its essentials in modern English ‘payment for work done’. The secondary signification of fee, ‘feudal estate’, is no longer a live sense, but it is represented in the related fief [17], a descendant of feodum, which English acquired through French rather than Anglo-Norman. The ultimate derivation of the medieval Latin term itself is not altogether clear, although it is usually assigned to an unrecorded Frankish *fehuōd, literally ‘cattle-property’ (*fehu has related forms in Old English féoh ‘cattle, property’ and Old Norse fé ‘cattle, money’ – joint sources of the first syllable of English fellow – and in modern German viehe ‘cattle’; they all go back ultimately to Indo- European *peku-, ancestor of a wide range of words meaning ‘cattle’ which, since in former times cattle were symbolic of wealth, in many cases came to signify ‘property’ too).
\ \ Cf.⇒ FELLOW, FEUDAL, FIEF
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
fée — fée … Dictionnaire des rimes
fee — n [Middle English, fief, from Old French fé fief, ultimately from a Germanic word akin to Old High German fehu cattle] 1: an inheritable freehold estate in real property; esp: fee simple compare leasehold; life estate at estate … Law dictionary
fée — [ fe ] n. f. • v. 1140; sens fig. XVIIIe; lat. pop. Fata, n. pr., déesse des destinées, de fatum « destin » 1 ♦ Être imaginaire de forme féminine auquel la légende attribue un pouvoir surnaturel et une influence sur la destinée des humains. Bonne … Encyclopédie Universelle
Fee — Fée Take the Fair Face of Woman… de Sophie Anderson Une fée (du latin fata, pluriel neutre de fatum, « destin », interprété comme un féminin) est une créature surnaturelle, issue des croyances populaires (folklore), des mythologies… … Wikipédia en Français
Fee — (f[=e]), n. [OE. fe, feh, feoh, cattle, property, money, fief, AS. feoh cattle, property, money; the senses of property, money, arising from cattle being used in early times as a medium of exchange or payment, property chiefly consisting of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
FEE — steht für Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens, Interessenvertretung der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Europa FEE (Band), Vertreter der Neuen Deutschen Welle Fördergesellschaft Erneuerbare Energien e.V., Vereins zur Wissensverbreitung über… … Deutsch Wikipedia
fée — (fée) s. f. 1° Être fantastique à qui l on attribuait un pouvoir surnaturel, le don de divination et une très grande influence sur la destinée, et que l on se figurait avec une baguette, signe de puissance. • On a banni les démons et les fées … Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré
fee — FÉE, fee, s.f. (livr.) Zână. – Din fr. fée. Trimis de LauraGellner, 17.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98 FÉE s. v. zână. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007. Sursa: Sinonime fée s. f., art. féea, g. d … Dicționar Român
Fee — Fee, Darstellung von Sophie Gengembre Anderson Feen sind nach romanischer und keltischer Volkssage geisterhafte, mit höheren Kräften begabte Fabelwesen, die sowohl weiblich als auch männlich sein können. Begriff und Name entwickelten sich aus den … Deutsch Wikipedia
fee — (fē) n. 1. A fixed sum charged, as by an institution or by law, for a privilege: »a license fee; tuition fees. 2. A charge for professional services: »a surgeon s fee. 3. A tip; a gratuity. 4. Law See … Word Histories
fee — W2S2 [fi:] n [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: fé, fief, from Medieval Latin feudum; FEUDAL] an amount of money that you pay to do something or that you pay to a professional person for their work ▪ school fees ▪ The health club charges an… … Dictionary of contemporary English
