linguistics: Phonology: …referred to so far are segmental; they are realized by consonantal or vocalic (vowel) segments of words, and they can be said to occur in a certain order relative to one another. For example, in the phonemic representation of the word “bit,” the phoneme /b/ precedes /i/, which precedes /t/.…

arch: …the late Middle Ages the segmental arch was introduced. This form and the elliptical arch had great value in bridge engineering because they permitted mutual support by a row of arches, carrying the lateral thrust to the abutments at either end of a bridge.

consociationalism: The theory of elite cooperation: …as a second element of segmental autonomy, such as federal arrangements that allow for autonomy in policy fields (i.e., education policy for which responsibility lays with the German Länder, or states). Third, proportionality must prevail in the electoral system but also with regard to civil service appointments and the allocation…

dystonia: , spastic dysphonia); segmental, involving two adjacent muscle groups, such as the neck muscles (e.g., spastic torticollis); or general, affecting the entire body.

morphology, in linguistics, study of the internal construction of words. Languages vary widely in the degree to which words can be analyzed into word elements, or morphemes (q.v.). In English there are numerous examples, such as “replacement,” which is composed of re-, “place,” and -ment, and

segmentation, in zoology, the condition of being constructed of a linear series of repeating parts, each being a metamere (body segment, or somite) and each being formed in sequence in the embryo, from anterior to posterior. All members of three large animal phyla are metameric: Annelida,

culture: Social organization: Segment is defined as one of an indefinite number of groupings all of which are alike in structure and function: families, lineages, clans, and so on. On more advanced levels of development there are occupational classes, such as farmers, pastoralists, artisans, metalworkers, and scribes, and…

computer science: Operating systems: …(pages) or variable-size blocks (segments) of the job are read into main memory as needed. Questions such as how much main memory space to allocate to users and which pages or segments should be returned to disk (“swapped out”) to make room for incoming pages or segments must be…

spider: Annotated classification: Suborder Mesothelae (segmented spiders) About 100 species in 1 family, Liphistiidae, found from Japan to Southeast Asia. Inhabit trapdoor tubes in ground; remnants of abdominal segmentation clearly visible dorsally from 7th segment (pedicel) to 18th; 8 spinnerets at middle of abdomen; male pedipalps relatively complicated; epigynum…

annelid, any member of a phylum of invertebrate animals that are characterized by the possession of a body cavity (or coelom), movable bristles (or setae), and a body divided into segments by transverse rings, or annulations, from which they take their name. The coelom is reduced in leeches, and

Duccio: Last years: …followers is known, his nephew Segna di Buonaventura.

Il Sodoma: …Pope Julius II in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. Although Raphael worked on the same ceiling in 1509, he left some of Sodoma’s ceiling decoration, including mythological figures and Roman military scenes, intact. About 1510 Sodoma again utilized mythological figures for ceiling decoration in Via del Casato, a…

Johann Andreas von Segner was a Hungarian-born physicist and mathematician who in 1751 introduced the concept of the surface tension of liquids, likening it to a stretched membrane. His view that minute and imperceptible attractive forces maintain surface tension laid the foundation for the

Johann Andreas von Segner was a Hungarian-born physicist and mathematician who in 1751 introduced the concept of the surface tension of liquids, likening it to a stretched membrane. His view that minute and imperceptible attractive forces maintain surface tension laid the foundation for the

Antonio Segni was an Italian statesman, twice premier (1955–57, 1959–60), and the fourth president (1962–64) of Italy. A lawyer with a degree in agricultural and commercial law, Segni joined the Christian Democratic Party in 1919 (then called Italian Popular Party) and worked as an organizer in the

therizinosaur, group of theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous (roughly 100 million to 66 million years ago) in Asia and North America and were characterized by their relatively small skulls, leaf-shaped teeth, and extended fingers with extremely long and robust claws.

rocket and missile system: Antitank and guided assault: The SS-11 was adopted by the United States as an interim helicopter-fired antitank missile pending the development of the TOW (for tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided) missile. Because it was designed for greater range and hitting power, TOW was mounted primarily on vehicles and, particularly, on attack…

mariposa lily: Major species: …in cultivation, among them the sego lily (Calochortus nuttallii), native to dry soil from South Dakota to Washington and south to Oregon and California. Its white flowers are variously marked with yellow, purple, and lilac. The edible corm of the sego lily was used for food by the early Mormon…

segoni-kun, mask derived from the antelope form, worn by a member of the Tyiwara society of the Bambara tribe in West Africa. Believed to have great power over agricultural fertility, the spirit of the tyi-wara (work animal) was thought to be embodied in the stylized segoni-kun masks, which were

Maryse Condé: …the best-selling novel Ségou (1984; Segu) and its sequel, Ségou II (1985; The Children of Segu). Set in historical Segou (now part of Mali), the books examine the violent impact of the slave trade, Islam, Christianity, and white colonization on a royal family during the period from 1797 to 1860.…

western Africa: The jihad of ʾUmar Tal: …more powerful Bambara kingdom of Segu. The Macina Fulani were opposed to the idea of a Tijānī power advancing into their own Qādirī zone in the Niger valley and even gave some aid to Segu. After ʿUmar’s forces had conquered Segu in 1861, they continued eastward, and, finding that Ahmadu’s…

Ségou, town, south-central Mali, western Africa. It extends for more than 4 miles (6 km) along the right bank of the Niger River. A historic town, it was the first capital of the Bambara kingdom, which flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1861 the kingdom collapsed when the leader of the

Maryse Condé: …its sequel, Ségou II (1985; The Children of Segu). Set in historical Segou (now part of Mali), the books examine the violent impact of the slave trade, Islam, Christianity, and white colonization on a royal family during the period from 1797 to 1860. Moi, Tituba, sorcière—: noire de Salem (1986;…

Segovia, provincia (province) in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Castile-León, north-central Spain. It is bounded by the provinces of Burgos and Soria to the north and northeast, respectively, Guadalajara and Madrid to the southeast, Ávila to the southwest, and Valladolid to the

Segovia, city, capital of Segovia provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Castile-León, Spain, northwest of Madrid. The site of the expansive medieval Alcázar palace and the famous Segovia aqueduct, the city was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985. An

Segovia aqueduct, water-conveyance structure built under the Roman emperor Trajan (reigned 98–117 ce) and still in use; it carries water 16 km (10 miles) from the Frío River to the city of Segovia, Spain. One of the best-preserved Roman engineering works, the aqueduct was designated part of the

Juan Gil de Hontañón: …mayor (official architect) of the Segovia cathedral and who designed in a late medieval style.

Coco River, river in southern Honduras and northern Nicaragua, rising west of the town of San Marcos de Colón, in southern Honduras, near the Honduras-Nicaragua border. The Coco flows generally eastward into Nicaragua, then turns northward near Mount Kilambé. For much of its middle and lower course

Andrés Segovia was a Spanish musician acclaimed as the foremost guitarist of his time. He was the most important force in reestablishing the guitar as a concert instrument in the 20th century, chiefly through demonstrating its expressive and technical potential. He continued giving concert

Sir Henry Segrave was an American-born English automobile and motorboat racer who set three world land speed records. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, Segrave served with the Royal Air Force in World War I. During the war he became interested in automobile racing by a visit to the Sheepshead Bay,

Emilio Segrè was an Italian-born American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1959 for the discovery of the antiproton, an antiparticle having the same mass as a proton but opposite in electrical charge. Segrè initially began studies in engineering at the

Emilio Segrè was an Italian-born American physicist who, with Owen Chamberlain, received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1959 for the discovery of the antiproton, an antiparticle having the same mass as a proton but opposite in electrical charge. Segrè initially began studies in engineering at the

permafrost: Types of ground ice: Segregated, or Taber, ice includes ice films, seams, lenses, pods, or layers generally 0.15 to 13 cm (0.06 to 5 inches) thick that grow in the ground by drawing in water as the ground freezes. Small ice segregations are the least spectacular but one of the most extensive…

postal system: Segregating machines: Mail collected from branch post offices and street mailboxes, although for the most part made up of ordinary letters and cards, also contains small parcels, newspapers, magazines, and large envelopes. These items, because of their size or shape, cannot be handled on machinery…

segregation, separation of groups of people with differing characteristics, often taken to connote a condition of inequality. Racial segregation is one of many types of segregation, which can range from deliberate and systematic persecution through more subtle types of discrimination to

metallurgy: Segregation: Different parts of a casting may have different compositions, stemming from the fact that the solid freezing out of a liquid has a different composition from the liquid with which it is in contact. (For example, when salt water is cooled until ice forms,…

igneous rock: Segregations: These are special types of inclusions that are intimately related to their host rocks and in general are relatively rich in one or more of the host-rock minerals. They range from small pods to extensive layers and from early-stage crystal accumulations formed by gravitational…

heredity: Discovery and rediscovery of Mendel’s laws: …first law of Mendel, the law of segregation of unit genes. Equal numbers of gametes, ovules, or pollen grains are formed that contain the genes R and r. Now, if the gametes unite at random, then the F2 generation should contain about 14 white-flowered and 34 purple-flowered plants. The white-flowered

heredity: Discovery and rediscovery of Mendel’s laws: …first law of Mendel, the law of segregation of unit genes. Equal numbers of gametes, ovules, or pollen grains are formed that contain the genes R and r. Now, if the gametes unite at random, then the F2 generation should contain about 14 white-flowered and 34 purple-flowered plants. The white-flowered

racial segregation, the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions (e.g., schools, churches) and facilities (parks, playgrounds, restaurants, restrooms) on the basis of race or alleged race. Racial segregation provides a means of

racial segregation, the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate institutions (e.g., schools, churches) and facilities (parks, playgrounds, restaurants, restrooms) on the basis of race or alleged race. Racial segregation provides a means of

Dino Buzzati: …“Barnabus of the Mountains”) and Il segreto del bosco vecchio (1935; “The Secret of the Ancient Wood”), introduced the Kafkaesque surrealism, symbolism, and absurdity that suffused all of his writing.

Ignazio Silone: …Il segreto di Luca (1956; The Secret of Luca, 1958) show Silone’s continued concern with the needs of southern Italy and the complexities of social reform. In Uscita di sicurezza (1965; Emergency Exit, 1968), Silone describes his shifts from Socialism to Communism to Christianity. A play, L’avventura d’un povero cristiano…

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari: …Il segreto di Susanna (1909; The Secret of Susanne), presented 18th-century styles orchestrated in the manner of the 20th century. Comic points in these operas are delicately underlined. In Sly (1927; based on the opening scenes of The Taming of the Shrew) and in his only tragic opera, I gioielli…

Maryse Condé: …the best-selling novel Ségou (1984; Segu) and its sequel, Ségou II (1985; The Children of Segu). Set in historical Segou (now part of Mali), the books examine the violent impact of the slave trade, Islam, Christianity, and white colonization on a royal family during the period from 1797 to 1860.…

seguidilla, Spanish folk dance with many regional variants; also, a verse form widely used in Spanish folk song. The dance is a courtship dance of proud demeanour, with small springing steps, light foot stamps, and varied ground patterns. The song consists of coplas—improvised verses of love or

seguidilla: …is the seguidillas sevillanas, or sevillanas. Most typically the dance is preceded by an instrumental introduction and a sung section. In the sevillanas, and in some other seguidillas, the dancers stop suddenly (bien parado) at the end of each copla, resuming dancing only after an instrumental interlude. The steps of…

Pierre Séguier was the chancellor of France under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, in the critical period during which monarchical power was consolidated. Séguier was born into a family that had held many legal posts, and he followed the same career. In 1612 he purchased the office of counselor in

Juan Seguín: The city of Seguín, located just outside of San Antonio, is named in his honour.

Marc Séguin, the Elder: With his brother Camille he studied the principles of the suspension bridge, at that time built with chain cables. Over the Rhône River at Tournon in 1824 the two brothers erected a bridge suspended from cables made of parallel wire strands, the first of a succession of such…

Edouard Séguin was a French-born American psychiatrist who pioneered modern educational methods for teaching the severely intellectually disabled. Born into a family of prominent physicians in Burgundy, Séguin was educated at the Collège d’Auxerre and at the Lycée St. Louis in Paris before studying

Juan Seguín was a Tejano (Texan of Hispanic descent) revolutionary and politician who helped establish the independence of Texas. After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, Stephen Austin—a friend of Seguín’s father—received Mexican approval to found settlements of English-speaking people in

Juan Seguín was a Tejano (Texan of Hispanic descent) revolutionary and politician who helped establish the independence of Texas. After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821, Stephen Austin—a friend of Seguín’s father—received Mexican approval to found settlements of English-speaking people in

Marc Séguin, the Elder was a French engineer and inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge and the tubular steam-engine boiler. A nephew of Joseph Montgolfier, the pioneer balloonist, Séguin developed an early interest in machinery, pursuing his studies informally but so successfully that by

Marc Séguin, the Elder was a French engineer and inventor of the wire-cable suspension bridge and the tubular steam-engine boiler. A nephew of Joseph Montgolfier, the pioneer balloonist, Séguin developed an early interest in machinery, pursuing his studies informally but so successfully that by

Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda: …the otherwise unknown author of Segundo tomo del ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (1614; “Second Book of the Ingenious Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha”), a fraudulent sequel to the first volume of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote (1605). In the 59th chapter of the second volume of…

Indonesia: The Malay kingdom of Srivijaya-Palembang: Shards found on nearby Seguntang Hill (Bukit Seguntang), on the other hand, span all these centuries. A piece of Romano-Indian rouletted ware, attributable to the early centuries ce, has been discovered in Palembang near the river; the same ware has been found in Java near Jakarta. Moreover, the sheer…

children’s literature: History: To it, Mme de Ségur, in her enormously popular novels, added sentimentality, class snobbery, but also some liveliness and occasional fidelity to child nature. Her “Sophie” series (1850s and 60s), frowned on by modern critics, is still loved by obstinate little French girls. Sans Famille (1878), by…

Segura River, river in southeastern Spain. It rises in the Segura Mountains in Jaén province and flows east through the driest region of the Iberian Peninsula to enter the Mediterranean Sea south of Alicante, a course of 202 miles (325 km). Much water is drawn off the Segura and its major

Dean Kamen: …American inventor who created the Segway Human Transporter (Segway HT; later called the Segway Personal Transporter [Segway PT]), a motorized device that allowed passengers to travel at up to 20 km (12.5 miles) per hour.

Dean Kamen: …American inventor who created the Segway Human Transporter (Segway HT; later called the Segway Personal Transporter [Segway PT]), a motorized device that allowed passengers to travel at up to 20 km (12.5 miles) per hour.

Dean Kamen: …American inventor who created the Segway Human Transporter (Segway HT; later called the Segway Personal Transporter [Segway PT]), a motorized device that allowed passengers to travel at up to 20 km (12.5 miles) per hour.

Dean Kamen: …American inventor who created the Segway Human Transporter (Segway HT; later called the Segway Personal Transporter [Segway PT]), a motorized device that allowed passengers to travel at up to 20 km (12.5 miles) per hour.

Justinus Andreas Christian Kerner: …Geisterwelt in die unsere (1829; The Seer of Prevorst. Disclosures About the Inner Life of Men and the Projection of a Spiritworld into Ours).

Hannibal Sehested was a statesman who achieved partial autonomy for Norway under Denmark and who laid the basis for the modernization of Denmark’s administrative system. After foreign travels in 1629–32, Sehested was attached to the court of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway. He was given

Tino Sehgal is a British-born artist who created installations that were known as “constructed situations.” Sehgal was raised in France and Germany. He studied political economy in Berlin and pursued dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany. He joined French experimental dance

Faxian was a Buddhist monk whose pilgrimage to India in 402 initiated Sino-Indian relations and whose writings give important information about early Buddhism. After his return to China he translated into Chinese the many Sanskrit Buddhist texts he had brought back. Sehi, who later adopted the

savanna: Flora: …grass cover consisting mainly of Sehima and Dichanthium, the latter also referred to as bluestem.

rug and carpet: Materials and technique: The Persian, or asymmetrical, knot is used principally in Iran, India, China, and Egypt. This knot was formerly known as the Senneh (Sehna) knot. The Spanish knot, used mainly in Spain, differs from the other two types in looping around only one warp yarn. After the…

Senneh rug, handwoven floor covering made by Kurds who live in or around the town of Senneh (now more properly Sanandaj) in western Iran. The pile rugs and kilims of Senneh are prized for their delicate pattern and colouring and for their fine weave. They are by far the most sophisticated of the

Rainer Werner Fassbinder: …Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (1982; Veronika Voss), based on the life of the German actress Sybille Schmitz—was well received. He also adapted Alfred Döblin’s novel Berlin Alexanderplatz for a 14-part television series in 1980 and later released all of the episodes as a feature film that ran nearly 16 hours.

Sehore, city, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is located on the northern edge of the Vindhya Range near the confluence of the Siwan and Latia rivers, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Bhopal. Sehore was a former British cantonment, and it served as the headquarters of the British

Allen Toussaint: When Toussaint and promotion man Marshall Sehorn set up Sea-Saint Studios in the mid-1960s, a new group of session musicians emerged, including Art Neville on organ, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, George Porter on bass, and Joseph Modeliste on drums. These musicians evolved a new variation of New Orleans’s famous “second…

Mikael Sehul was a nobleman who ruled Ethiopia for a period of 25 years as regent of a series of weak emperors. He brought to an end the ancient Solomonid dynasty of Ethiopia, which had ruled for 27 centuries, and began a long period of political unrest. In the reign of Iyoas (1755–69), son of the

Islamic arts: Architecture: …the Selim Mosque (1522), the Şehzade külliye (1548), and the Süleyman külliye (after 1550). The Şehzade and Süleyman külliyes were built by Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect, whose masterpiece is the Selim Mosque at Edirne, Turkey (1569–75). All those buildings exhibit total clarity and logic in

international law: International law and municipal law: In Sei Fujii v. State of California (1952), for example, the California Supreme Court held that the UN Charter was not self-executing because its relevant principles concerning human rights lacked the mandatory quality and certainty required to create justiciable rights for private persons upon its ratification;…

Six Characters in Search of an Author, play in three acts by Luigi Pirandello, produced and published in Italian in 1921 as Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore. Introducing Pirandello’s device of the “theatre within the theatre,” the play explores various levels of illusion and reality. It had a great

Sei Shōnagon was a diarist, poet, and courtier whose witty, learned Pillow Book (Makura no sōshi) exhibits a brilliant and original Japanese prose style and is a masterpiece of classical Japanese literature. It is also the best source of information on Japanese court life in the Heian period

sei whale, (Balaenoptera borealis), species of baleen whale capable of short bursts of speed that make it the swiftest of the rorquals. Usually attaining a length of about 13–15 metres (43–49 feet), this cetacean is bluish gray or blackish above with paler underparts and a relatively large

Dajōkan: …the various ministries; and a Central Chamber (Sei-in), which subsumed the powers of the other two chambers.

Florence Seibert was an American scientist, best known for her contributions to the tuberculin test and to safety measures for intravenous drug therapy. Seibert contracted polio at age three, but became an outstanding student, graduating at the top of her high-school class and winning a scholarship

Florence Seibert was an American scientist, best known for her contributions to the tuberculin test and to safety measures for intravenous drug therapy. Seibert contracted polio at age three, but became an outstanding student, graduating at the top of her high-school class and winning a scholarship

Niger: Independence and conflict: …in 1987) and then by Ali Seibou. Mahamane Ousmane of the Social Democratic Convention became president in the country’s first multiparty presidential elections in 1993. Meanwhile, a Tuareg rebellion that had begun in the northern part of the country in the early 1990s gained momentum until a cease-fire agreement in…

Daisuke Matsuzaka: …who agreed to pay the Seibu Lions more than $51 million for the negotiating rights to Matsuzaka and then signed the pitcher to a six-year contract worth another $52 million.

seiche, rhythmic oscillation of water in a lake or a partially enclosed coastal inlet, such as a bay, gulf, or harbour. A seiche may last from a few minutes to several hours or for as long as two days. The phenomenon was first observed and studied in Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), Switzerland, in the

Ōmoto: These include Seichōno-ie (Household of Growth) and Sekai Kyūsei-kyō (Religion of World Salvation), both founded by former disciples of Onisaburō. Ōmoto emphasizes the universal character of religion. It promotes the use of the international language Esperanto and sponsors an organization called ULBA (Universal Love and Brotherhood Association).

Japan: Heterodox Confucian schools: In his work Seidan, for example, Sorai insisted that the main reason for the financial distress of the warrior class in both the bakufu and the domains was that warriors had moved to the cities, where they were at the mercy of a monetary economy. If they would…

seide, in Sami religion, idols of wood or stone, either natural or slightly shaped by human hands, worshipped as possessing impersonal supernatural power or as actually being inhabited by a spirit with whom one could communicate. Seides were most commonly located in places where some feature of the

optics: Seidel sums: If a lens were perfect and the object were a single point of monochromatic light, then, as noted above, the light wave emerging from the lens would be a portion of a sphere centred about the ideal image point, lying in the paraxial…

Boston Massacre: The killing of Christopher Seider and the end of the rope: Early in 1770, with the effectiveness of the boycott uneven, colonial radicals, many of them members of the Sons of Liberty, began directing their ire against those businesses that had ignored the boycott. The radicals posted signs…

Ninsei was a Japanese potter active in Kyōto during the Edo period between the Meireki (1655–57) and the Genroku (1688–1703) eras. He learned the art of ceramics by working at the Awata-guchi kiln in Kyōto and the Seto kiln in Mino. His patron, the prince of the Ninna Temple at Omuro Katamachi,

seif, a long, narrow sand dune or chain of dunes, generally oriented in a direction parallel to the prevailing wind or in a direction resulting from two or more winds blowing at acute angles to each other. The dune crest consists of a series of peaks and gaps, and the steep, or slip, face may

Jaroslav Seifert was a poet and journalist who in 1984 became the first Czech to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Seifert made a living as a journalist until 1950, but his first book of poetry, Město v slzách (“Town in Tears”), was published in 1920. His early proletarian poetry reflects his

Richard Tauber was an Austrian-born British tenor celebrated for his work in opera and, especially, operetta. Tauber was studying voice at Freiberg, Ger., at the time of his highly successful operatic debut, as Tamino in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) at the Chemnitz

Wikipedia: Issues and controversies: In 2005 the American journalist John L. Seigenthaler, Jr., discovered that his Wikipedia biography falsely identified him as a potential conspirator in the assassinations of both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy and that these malicious claims had survived Wikipedia’s community policing for 132 days. The author of this…

Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Seignelay was the French secretary of state under Louis XIV. As the eldest son of the famous secretary of state of that name, Colbert was given the best possible tutors, who found him bright but lazy. In 1683 Colbert became head of the navy and performed

Roman Polanski: …Polanski married the French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, who starred in his films Frantic (1988), Bitter Moon (1992), The Ninth Gate (1999), La Vénus à la fourrure (2013; Venus in Fur), and D’après une histoire vraie (2017; Based on a True Story).

benefice: …Frankish sovereign or lord, the seigneur, leased an estate to a freeman on easy terms in beneficium (Latin: “for the benefit [of the tenant]”), and this came to be called a beneficium, a benefice. The lease normally came to an end on the death of the seigneur or of the…

droit du seigneur, (French: “right of the lord”), a feudal right said to have existed in medieval Europe giving the lord to whom it belonged the right to sleep the first night with the bride of any one of his vassals. The custom is paralleled in various primitive societies, but the evidence of its

manorialism, political, economic, and social system by which the peasants of medieval Europe were rendered dependent on their land and on their lord. Its basic unit was the manor, a self-sufficient landed estate, or fief that was under the control of a lord who enjoyed a variety of rights over it