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Fee

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fee¹

  • /fiː/

Sounds like fi · Rhymes with -iː

Where it comes from

From Middle English fee, fe, feh, feoh, from Old English feoh (“cattle, property, wealth, money, payment, tribute, fee”) with contamination from Old French fieu, fief (from Medieval Latin fevum, a variant of feudum (see feud), from Frankish *fehu (“cattle, livestock”); whence fief), both from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle, sheep, livestock, owndom”), from Proto-Indo-European *péḱu (“livestock”).

Cognates

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Fäi (“cattle, livestock”), West Frisian fee (“livestock”), Cimbrian biighe, viighe (“animal, beast”), Dutch vee (“cattle, livestock”), German Viech (“animal, beast”), Vieh (“livestock”), German Low German Veeh (“cattle, livestock, property”), Luxembourgish Véi (“cattle”), Vilamovian fi, fī, fii, fiih (“cattle, livestock”), Yiddish פֿי (fi), פֿיך (fikh, “cattle, livestock”), Danish and Faroese fæ (“cattle, livestock”), Icelandic fé (“assets, livestock, money”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fe (“cattle, livestock”), Swedish fä (“beast, cattle, dolt”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉 (faihō), 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 (faihu, “possessions, property; riches, wealth; money”); also Latin pecū (“cattle”), Old Prussian pecku (“cattle”), Armenian ասր (asr, “fleece, wool”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬯𐬎 (pasu, “livestock”), Bactrian ποσο (poso, “sheep”), Central Kurdish پەز (pez, “sheep”), Northern Kurdish pez (“sheep”), Ossetian фыс (fys, “sheep”), Talysh pəs, пәс (“sheep”), Sanskrit पशु (paśu, “cattle”).

noun fees

  1. An amount charged in return for permission to do something television license fee
  2. An amount charged ancillary to the (occasionally null) base cost of a product or service; an additional charge, nominally for some additional privilege, ability or permission. booking fee, late fee
  3. An amount charged for something: the base cost of purchasing some thing, service, etc. admission fee, membership fee, drivers' license fee
  4. A fixed rate or price charged for (chiefly white-collar) professional services. lawyers' fees, tuition fee, bank fees, legal fees, consulting fee
  5. An inheritable estate in land, whether absolute and without limitation to potential heirs (fee simple) or with limitations to particular kinds of heirs (fee tail).
  6. historical A right to the use of a superior's land as a stipend for certain services to be performed, typically military service.
  7. historical Synonym of fief: the land so held.
  8. historical An inheritable estate in land held of a feudal lord on condition of performance of certain services, typically military service.
  9. figuratively, obsolete Synonym of possession. Once did she hold the gorgeous East in fee; And was the safeguard of the west: the worth Of Venice did not fall below her birth, Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.
  10. obsolete Money paid or bestowed; payment; emolument.
  11. obsolete A prize or reward. Only used in the set phrase "A finder's fee" in Modern English. For though sweet love to conquer glorious bee, / Yet is the paine thereof much greater than the fee.

verb fees · feeing · feed

  1. To reward for services performed, or to be performed; to recompense; to hire or keep in hire; hence, to bribe. In vain for Hellebore the patient cries / And fees the doctor; but too late is wise

Fee²

proper noun

  1. A surname.
  2. A diminutive of the female given name Fiona. Then turning to Fiona, she said, “Fee, I'll only be a minute. […]

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