fee

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An amount of money you pay for a service, privilege, or membership.

   The bank charges a small fee for late payments.

2. 2
   noun

   A payment made to a professional for their work.

   The lawyer's fees were higher than we expected.

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Simplified etymology

Fee entered Middle English from Old French feu or fief and originally meant a fief or feudal estate. Its meaning developed through “the right to an office or pension,” “a tribute to a superior,” and “a benefit or reward” before reaching its modern sense.

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, bea…

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