feudum

Forms

feudum n (genitive feudī); second declension^[1] The usual medieval spelling is feodum; the oldest forms have no ⟨d⟩: feo, fevum, feum.^[2][3][4][1]

Etymology

It is from Frankish *fehu (“cattle, property”) in the generally accepted view, a Medieval Latin word of Germanic origin,^[2][4][5] through Old French feu or Old Occitan feu according to Wiktionary.^[1] Its forms with ⟨d⟩ are secondary to the older ⟨fevum⟩ type;^[2][4] the ⟨d⟩ is usually put down to the influence of allōdium, also a Frankish word,^[1][3] though some derive the word from a Frankish compound *fehu-ôd.^[1][6]

The Frankish word continues Proto-Germanic *fehu,^[1] the source of Old English feoh (“cattle, money”),^[4][6] and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *péḱu (“livestock”), so that it is cognate with Latin pecū.^[1][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest form, feo, appears in a charter of St Gall of 785/789, where a yearly payment is set at so much “value”, meaning goods or property.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant movable property, money or goods, and then an allowance of money or goods paid for services, a wage.^[2][3] Land or another source of income could be granted in fevum instead of such an allowance, and this grant gave rise to the fief: an estate held from a lord in return for homage and service.^[2][4] The Libri feudorum define it as a gift of the use of land made out of goodwill, the ownership staying with the giver, on condition that the holder and his heirs serve the lord faithfully.^[7] It also meant the act of granting such land and, in the plural, the feudal system itself.^[3]

It is the source of Italian feudo and Spanish feudo.^[1][8] English fief (1610s) is French, from the Medieval Latin word, and English feudal (1610s) is from Medieval Latin feudālis.^[6]

Timeline

• 785/789 – A charter of St Gall has the form feo for goods.^[3]
• 786 – Charters use it.^[5]
• 1120–1141 – Orderic Vitalis, writing of 1089, speaks of the feudos held in Normandy and England.^[4][5]
• 1610s – English borrows fief from French and feudal from Medieval Latin.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) Movable property: money, goods.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) An allowance in money or goods paid for services; wages.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A fief, fee: land or income held from a lord in return for homage and service.^[2][4][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) The grant of a fief, enfeoffment.^[3]
5. (Medieval Latin, plural) The feudal system.^[3]

Word family

• feudālis

Related words

• allōdium
• pecū
• English fief
• English fee

Usage notes

English feudal has nothing to do with feud “enmity”, which is a different Germanic word.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier