fiefs

Noun

fief (countable and uncountable, plural fiefs)

1. (historical) Land held of a superior, particularly on condition of homage, fealty, and personal service, especially military service.
   • Fief: m[asculine] A Fief. A (Knights) fee, a Mannor, or inheritance held by homage, and fealty; and given at the firſt, in truſt, and upon promiſe of aſſiſtance, or ſervice in the wars: […] Alſo, a Tenure, or Eſtate in fief, or in fee. This word was firſt heard of, after the conqueſt of Gallia by...1673, Randle Cotgrave, “Fief”, in A French and English Dictionary, London: Anthony Dolle, →OCLC
2. (figuratively) Synonym of estate: any land, when considered as a region over which the owner exercises lordly control.
   • Through the years of my childhood my maternal grandmother remained the one unforgettable presence, the strong country woman ruling over her farm like a medieval lord. On her fief I first opened my eyes to poetry and to the land. […] There was something of the ancient matriarch in her, who had given...1989, Liliane Welch, “Grandparents: A Fragment”, in C. Dino Minni, editor, Ricordi, Things Remembered: An Anthology of Short Stories, Montreal: Guernica Editions, →ISBN, page 59

   Synonyms:

   estate

3. (figuratively) A territory, a domain, an area over which one exercises lordly control, particularly with regard to corporate or governmental bureaucracies.