feoh

Old English

Alternative forms

fioh, feh

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Germanic *fehu. Note that feoh must have transferred into the a-stems (and thus lost its -u) before loss of medial *h, or else it would be *fēo.

Cognates

Germanic cognates include Old Frisian fia (West Frisian fee), Old Saxon fehu (Low German Veeh), Old Dutch fē (Dutch vee), Old High German fihu (German Vieh), Old Norse fé (Swedish fä), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿 (faihu). The Indo-European root is also the source of Sanskrit पशु (páśu, “cattle”), Latin pecus, Old Armenian ասր (asr, “fleece”) and Lithuanian pēkus (“cattle”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fe͜ox/
Rhymes: -e͜ox

Noun

feoh n

money
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
  Ēalā ġif iċ hæfde feoh.
  If only I had money.
livestock, cattle
- c. 893, Alfred the Great, Doom Book
  Ġif þē becume ōðres mannes ġīemelēas feoh on hand, þēah hit sīe þīn fēond, ġecȳþ hit him.
  If you come across someone else's stray cattle, let them know, even if they are your enemy.
property
- Laws of Hlothhere and Eadric
  Ġif Cantwara æniġ in Lundenwīċ fēoh ġebyċġe, hæbbe him tweġen oððe ðrēo unfācne ċeorlas tō ġewitnesse oþþe cyninges wīcġerēfan.
  If any person of Kent buys property in London, he should have two or three trustworthy men or the king's reeve, as a witness.
the runic character ᚠ (/f/)
- The Old English rune poem
  ᚠ byþ frōfur fīra ġehwylċum...
  Wealth is a comfort for all mankind...

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	feoh	—
accusative	feoh	—
genitive	fēos	—
dative	fēo	—

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle English: feh, fe, fee (with Old French)
- English: fee
- Scots: fe, fee, fiel