enfeoff

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To transfer a fief to, to endow with a fief; to put (a person) in legal possession of a freehold interest.
To give up completely; to surrender, to yield.

Pronunciation

/ɛnˈfɛf/ /ɪnˈfɛf/ /ɛnˈfiːf/ /ɪnˈfiːf/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-enfeoff.wav

Word forms

enfeoff enfeoffs enfeoffes enfeoffing enfeoffed no-table-tags glossary enfeoffest enfeoffedst enfeoffeth infeff infeft infeoff

Etymology

From Late Middle English enfeffen, enfeoffen (“to grant (property, rights, etc.) under the feudal system”) [and other forms], from Old French enfeffer, enfieffer (compare Anglo-Latin infeoffāre, Anglo-Norman enfeoffer), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + fief (“estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu- (“livestock, especially sheep or cattle”)). The English word is analysable as en- + feoff.

Synonyms

feoff cede

Related words

fee feoff feoffee feoffer feoffor feofor feoffment fief refeoff

Derived words

enfeoffment

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