# enfeoff

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɛnˈfɛf/

## Definitions
1. To transfer a fief to, to endow with a fief; to put (a person) in legal possession of a freehold interest.
2. To give up completely; to surrender, to yield.

## Etymology
From Late Middle English enfeffen, enfeoffen (“to grant (property, rights, etc.) under the feudal system”) [and other forms], from Old French enfeffer, enfieffer (compare Anglo-Latin infeoffāre, Anglo-Norman enfeoffer), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + fief (“estate held by a person on condition of providing military service to a superior”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu- (“livestock, especially sheep or cattle”)). The English word is analysable as en- + feoff.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/enfeoff