fee

fee
fee (fē)
n.
1. A fixed sum charged, as by an institution or by law, for a privilege: »

a license fee; tuition fees.

2. A charge for professional services: »

a surgeon's fee.

3. A tip; a gratuity.
4. Law See FEE SIMPLE(Cf. ↑fee simple).
5. a) In feudal law, an estate in land granted by a lord to his vassal on condition of homage and service. Also called feud2, fief. b) The land so held.
tr.v. feed, fee·ing, fees 1) To give a tip to. 2) Scots To hire.
[Middle English fe, from Old English feoh, cattle, goods, money, and from Anglo-Norman fee, fief (from Old French fie, fief, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English feoh); see peku-.]
Word History: Fee comes from Old English feoh, which has three meanings: "cattle, livestock," "goods, possessions, movable property," and "money." The Germanic form behind the Old English is *fehu-, which derives by Grimm's Law from Indo-European *peku-, "movable wealth, cattle." In the ancient societies of Europe and Asia that spoke Indo-European languages, the wealth of a person or group was often measured by the size of their herds—just as it is in many traditional pastoral societies today. So it is natural that a word meaning "cattle" and "movable wealth" could also mean "money," as ancient economies developed and standard coinage of gold and silver was introduced. The same development from "livestock" to "money" can also be observed in the family of Latin words derived from pecu, "cattle," the direct Latin descendant of Indo-European *peku- and cognate of English fee. In Latin, many words relating to money and finance were derived from pecu, and several of these derivatives were ultimately borrowed into English, for example, pecūnia, "money," the source of our word pecuniary. Another was pecūliāris, "relating to one's pecūlium or personal property, particular to oneself," the source of our word peculiar. Finally, our word peculate comes from yet a third derivative, pecūlāre, "to embezzle public money."

Word Histories. 2014.

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  • fée — fée …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • fee — n [Middle English, fief, from Old French fé fief, ultimately from a Germanic word akin to Old High German fehu cattle] 1: an inheritable freehold estate in real property; esp: fee simple compare leasehold; life estate at estate …   Law dictionary

  • fée — [ fe ] n. f. • v. 1140; sens fig. XVIIIe; lat. pop. Fata, n. pr., déesse des destinées, de fatum « destin » 1 ♦ Être imaginaire de forme féminine auquel la légende attribue un pouvoir surnaturel et une influence sur la destinée des humains. Bonne …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Fee — Fée Take the Fair Face of Woman… de Sophie Anderson Une fée (du latin fata, pluriel neutre de fatum, « destin », interprété comme un féminin) est une créature surnaturelle, issue des croyances populaires (folklore), des mythologies… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fee — (f[=e]), n. [OE. fe, feh, feoh, cattle, property, money, fief, AS. feoh cattle, property, money; the senses of property, money, arising from cattle being used in early times as a medium of exchange or payment, property chiefly consisting of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • FEE — steht für Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens, Interessenvertretung der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Europa FEE (Band), Vertreter der Neuen Deutschen Welle Fördergesellschaft Erneuerbare Energien e.V., Vereins zur Wissensverbreitung über… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fée — (fée) s. f. 1°   Être fantastique à qui l on attribuait un pouvoir surnaturel, le don de divination et une très grande influence sur la destinée, et que l on se figurait avec une baguette, signe de puissance. •   On a banni les démons et les fées …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • fee — FÉE, fee, s.f. (livr.) Zână. – Din fr. fée. Trimis de LauraGellner, 17.05.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  FÉE s. v. zână. Trimis de siveco, 13.09.2007. Sursa: Sinonime  fée s. f., art. féea, g. d …   Dicționar Român

  • Fee — Fee, Darstellung von Sophie Gengembre Anderson Feen sind nach romanischer und keltischer Volkssage geisterhafte, mit höheren Kräften begabte Fabelwesen, die sowohl weiblich als auch männlich sein können. Begriff und Name entwickelten sich aus den …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fee — W2S2 [fi:] n [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: fé, fief, from Medieval Latin feudum; FEUDAL] an amount of money that you pay to do something or that you pay to a professional person for their work ▪ school fees ▪ The health club charges an… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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