Fr. Ill old French law. A tax or assessment levied by the king, or by any great lord, upon his subjects, usually taking the form of an imposition upon the owners of real estate. Brande. In old English law. The fee which is opposed to fee-simple, because it Is so minced or pared that it is not In the owner’s free power to dispose of it, but it is, by the first giver, cut or divided from all other, and tied to the issue of the donee,