Feu
/fjuː/noun
A Scots legal tenure in which land is held in return for a continuing payment or service.
Did you know?In Scotland, a feu could continue indefinitely, with the holder paying an annual “feu duty” to the superior who originally granted the land.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fehu
“Cattle, movable property, or wealth—the kind of portable value used for exchange.”
Old High German
Old High German
fihu
“Cattle, property, or wealth.”
Early Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
feudum
“A fief or heritable estate granted in return for service; probably borrowed from a Germanic word related to *fehu.”
11th–12th Century
Old French
feu / fief
“A feudal estate or landholding granted by a superior.”
14th–15th Century
Scots
feu
“Land held under feudal conditions, typically in return for a recurring payment or service.”
Modern English
Scots English
feu
“A Scottish legal tenure or the land held under it.”