In feudal law, a fief or estate held in fee; a heritable possession of land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for service or loyalty.
From Old French fief, which came from Medieval Latin feudum, possibly from Germanic *fehu (cattle/property). 'Feod' is an archaic English spelling variant of 'fief' reflecting feudal tenure systems.
The word 'feod' encodes an entire social system in four letters—it represents the bargain that built medieval Europe: land in exchange for loyalty. Understanding feods, fees, and feudal obligations is key to understanding why European societies were so hierarchical, and why land ownership meant power in ways that astound us today.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.