fee tailn. pl. fees tail An estate in land that may only be passed on to lineal descendants.[Middle English fe taille, from Anglo-Norman fee taile : fee, fee; see fee + Old French taile, past participle of tailier, to cut; see tailor.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.fee tail n (Law) property law a. a freehold interest in land restricted to a particular line of heirsb. an estate in land subject to such restriction. Compare fee simple [C15: from Anglo-French fee tailé fee (or fief) determined, from taillier to cut]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014fee (fi) n., v. feed, fee?ing. n. 1. a sum charged or paid, as for professional services or for a privilege: a doctor’s fee; an admission fee. 2. Law. a. an estate of inheritance, either without limitation to a particular class of heirs (fee simple) or limited to one particular class of heirs (fee tail). b. (in the Middle Ages) estate lands held of a feudal lord in return for services performed. c. a territory held in fee. 3. a gratuity; tip. v.t. 4. to give a gratuity to; tip. 5. Chiefly Scot. to hire; employ. Idioms: in fee, in full ownership: an estate held in fee. [1250?1300; Middle English