English → Latin
“fief” in Latin
The English word fief itself goes back to Latin feudum, through fevum.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
fief
The right bestowed on anybody, beneficium. *feudum (technical term)
The estate held as a fief, praedium velut fiduciarium datum (after Liv., 32, 28, p. in.): praedium beneficiarium (after Sen., Ep. 90, 3). To give anybody anything as a fief, praedium velut fiduciarium alicui dare (after Liv., 32, 28, p. in.): to receive anything as a fief, praedium velut fiduciarium ab aliquo accipere (after the above passage): landed property held as a fief, ager velut fiduciarius (after Liv., 32, 28, p. in.); ager beneficiarius (after Sen., Ep., 90, 2): that may be held as a fief, quod velut beneficium dari potest (in forensic Latin, feudalis): the deed relating to the fief, i. e., the deed of feoffment, *litterae beneficiariae: the heir of an estate held as a fief, heres praedii velut fiduciarii; *heres praedii beneficiarii.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for fief?
- The usual Latin words for “fief” are beneficium, feudum. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.