Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fiefdom” come from?

Fiefdom comes from English fief plus the Middle English suffix -dom, derived from Old English -dōm, from Latin fevum, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰóh₁mos.

fiefdom (English): The estate controlled by a feudal lord; a fief;...

Definitions

  1. The estate controlled by a feudal lord; a fief;...

Ancestry of “fiefdom”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-domForming nouns denoting the condition or state of...
2EnglishDOMInitialism of date of marriage; Initialism of...
3EnglishdominanceThe state of being dominant; of prime importance;...
4English-anceAdded to an adjective or verb to form a noun...
5Middle English-aunce—
6Old French-ance-ance
7Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
8Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
9Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
10Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →