Fee

Fee, fē, n. price paid for services, as to a lawyer or physician: recompense, wages: the sum exacted for any special privilege: a grant of land for feudal service: an unconditional inheritance—Fee′-sim′ple, possession: ownership.—v.t. to pay a fee to: to hire:—pr.p. fee′ing; pa.p. feed.—ns. Fee′-grief (Shak.), a private grief; Fee′ing-mar′ket (Scot.), a fair or market at which farm-servants are hired for the year or half-year following; Fee′-tail, an entailed estate, which on failure of heirs reverts to the donor.—Base fee, a qualified fee, a freehold estate of inheritance to which a qualification is annexed; Conditional fee, a fee granted on condition, or limited to particular heirs: the estate of a mortgagee of land, possession of which is conditional on payment; Great fee, the holding of a tenant of the Crown. [A.S. feoh, cattle, property: a special kind of property, property in land; Ger. vieh, Ice. fé; allied to L. pecus, cattle, pecunia, money.]