fee

Meanings

Noun

• A right to the use of a superior's land, as a stipend for services to be performed; also, the land so held; a fief.
• An inheritable estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of the performing of certain services.
• An estate of inheritance in land, either absolute and without limitation to any particular class of heirs (fee simple) or limited to a particular class of heirs (fee tail).
• Property; owndom; estate.
• Money paid or bestowed; payment; emolument.
• A prize or reward. Only used in the set phrase "A finder's fee" in Modern English.
• A monetary payment charged for a service.

Verb

• To reward for services performed, or to be performed; to recompense; to hire or keep in hire; hence, to bribe.

Origin

• From Middle English fee, fe, feh, feoh, from Old English feoh ("cattle, property, wealth, money, payment, tribute, fee") with contamination from Old French fieu, fief (from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (see feud), from Frankish *fehu ("cattle, livestock"); whence fief), both from Proto-Germanic *fehu ("cattle, sheep, livestock, owndom"), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu- ("livestock"). Cognate with Old High German fihu ("cattle, neat"), Scots fe, fie, West Frisian fee ("livestock"), Dutch vee ("cattle, livestock"), Low German Veeh ("cattle, livestock, property"), Veh, German Vieh ("cattle, livestock"), Danish fæ ("cattle, beast, dolt"), Swedish fä ("beast, cattle, dolt"), Norwegian fe ("cattle"), Icelandic fé ("livestock, assets, money"), Latin pecū ("cattle").