fief

IPA/ˈfiːf.dəm/
KK[fˈif]IPA/ˈfiːf.dəm/

fief — 名詞

  • fiefsingular
  • fiefsplural

1. In medieval society, land that a ruler or lord allows a lesser noble to use, on

1.名詞C1
釋義

封地

領主賜給附庸的土地

In medieval society, land that a ruler or lord allows a lesser noble to use, on condition that the lesser noble provides loyalty, military help, or other services.

例句

The king granted the baron a fief near the river in exchange for military service.

國王在河邊賜給男爵一大片封地，以換取軍事服務。

collocation: grant a fief — land given in exchange for service

Farmers on the fief owed part of their harvest to the local lord each season.

在封地上耕作的農夫每個季節都要繳納一部分收成給當地領主。

同義詞
  • estate

    general term for a large piece of land; less specific to the feudal obligation structure

  • manor

    refers to the lord's house and the land around it; narrower in scope than fief

  • domain

    can refer to any area of control, not just medieval land grants

  • holding

    neutral legal term for land one possesses; lacks the feudal duty connotation

文法句型

fief + of [place]

[someone]'s fief

用法筆記

Almost exclusively used in discussions of medieval European history. The person who grants a fief is the lord or suzerain; the person who receives it is the vassal. In modern English the word sounds archaic outside figurative use (see sense 2).

常見錯誤

❌The baron paid taxes on his fief.
✅The baron collected taxes from the peasants who lived on his fief.
💡A fief was a source of income for the person who held it, not a tax expense.

2. A particular area of work, knowledge, or responsibility that one person or a sma

2.名詞B2
釋義

地盤

某人完全控制的領域

A particular area of work, knowledge, or responsibility that one person or a small group controls fully, often in a way that keeps others out.

例句

The marketing department had become the director's personal fief where no one questioned her decisions.

行銷部門變成了總監的個人地盤，沒有人敢質疑她的決定。

collocation: personal fief — possessive adjective signals figurative use

For decades the old professor treated the history faculty as his private fief.

數十年來，那位老教授把歷史系當作自己的私人地盤。

同義詞
  • domain

    neutral term for an area of expertise or control; lacks the negative flavour of fief

  • territory

    emphasises the physical or organisational boundaries of control

  • preserve

    suggests something kept for oneself, often with a sense of entitlement

  • bailiwick

    formal or humorous term for someone's area of special knowledge; less common

文法句型

[possessive] + fief

someone's private/personal fief

用法筆記

Typically preceded by a possessive adjective (his, her, its, their) or a possessive noun. Often has a mildly critical tone — the speaker implies that the person exerts excessive or unwelcome control over what should be shared or transparent.

常見錯誤

❌He turned the project into his fief and welcomed everyone's ideas.
✅He turned the project into his fief and rejected every suggestion from the team.
💡A fief implies exclusive, not collaborative, control.
❌The IT department is a fief of technical problems.
✅The IT department is run like a personal fief by the manager.
💡Fief describes a territory of control, not a problem area.