ENFEOFF

enfeoff

(verb) put in possession of land in exchange for a pledge of service, in feudal society; “He enfeoffed his son-in-law with a large estate in Scotland”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

enfeoff (third-person singular simple present (obsolete) enfeoffes or enfeoffs, present participle enfeoffing, simple past and past participle enfeoffed)

(transitive, chiefly, law, historical) To transfer a fief to, to endow with a fief; to put (a person) in legal possession of a freehold interest.

Synonym: feoff

(transitive, figuratively) To give up completely; to surrender, to yield.

Synonym: cede

Conjugation

Source: Wiktionary

En*feoff" (; see Feoff, 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Enfeoffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Enfeoffing.] Etym: [Pref. en- + feoff, fief: cf. LL. infeofare, OF. enfeffer, enfeofer.]

1. (Law)

Definition: To give a feud, or right in land, to; to invest with a fief or fee; to invest (any one) with a freehold estate by the process of feoffment. Mozley & W.

2. To give in vassalage; to make subservient. [Obs.] [The king] enfeoffed himself to popularity. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition