English
feu
Feu comes from Middle French fé ‘fief’, from Frankish *fehu ‘livestock, cattle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-1‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱu2‘livestock’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehu3‘livestock, cattle’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fehu3‘livestock, cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfeudum4as feodum‘a fief, fee’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fé4‘fief’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feu4
- Englishearliest quotation 2001feu4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fehu
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin feudum
- 4 Wiktionary, English feu
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Richard Rodger, Property and Trust in the Nineteenth Century”: “But in effect, whereas Heriot's knew that their feuing…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱuWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fehu‘livestock’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fehuWiktionary, Latin feudum‘livestock, cattle’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fehuWiktionary, Latin feudum‘livestock, cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfeudumWiktionary, English feuas feodum‘a fief, fee’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600féWiktionary, English feu‘fief’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500feuWiktionary, English feu
- Englishearliest quotation 2001feuWiktionary, English feu. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2001, Richard Rodger, Property and Trust in the Nineteenth Century”: “But in effect, whereas Heriot's knew that their feuing…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’
fight, fellow, peculiar, fax, fawn, fain, 25 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘livestock’
cynical, hound, poodle, cynic, pec, pecuniary, chenille, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *fehu ‘livestock, cattle’
through Frankish *fehu ‘livestock, cattle’
through Latin feudum ‘a fief, fee’
Today it means
noun Land held in feudal tenure.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “feu”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *péḱu, Proto-Germanic *fehu, Latin feudum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / feu