Fife

Fife
The name derives from the Lands of Fife in Scotland, and means 'A former inhabitant of that place'. A fife was an ancient wind instrument which maybe the origin of the name i.e. a windy place. In the modern idiom the name has four spelling variations Fyfe,Fife, Fyffe and Phyfe. The surname became Feif and Pfeiff in Sweden where several of the name became prominent. An interesting namebearer was Sir John Fife (1795 - 1871), army assistant surgeon at Woolwich, helped to found Newcastle School of Medicine, 1834. Mayor of Newcastle 1838 -1839 and 1843, Knighted (1840) for suppressing chartist outbreak of 1839. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ele de Fyfe. which was dated 1296, Country Fife. during the reign of King Robert de Bruce 1274 -1329. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Fife — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Fife (desambiguación). Fife, también conocido como región de Fife o Reino de Fife (Kingdom of Fife en inglés) es unas de las nueve regiones de Escocia, situada en la costa Este …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fife — ist der Name von: Fife (Schottland), schottische Region Orte in Sambia: Fife (Sambia), sambische Stadt in den Vereinigten Staaten: Fife (Georgia) Fife (Montana) Fife (North Dakota) Fife (Texas) Fife (Virginia) Fife (Washington) Sonstiges:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • FIFe — ist der Name von: Fife (Schottland), schottische Region Fife (Sambia), sambische Stadt Fife (Virginia) Fife (Washington), Stadt in den USA Fife (Texas), Stadt in Texas Schwegel, (engl.), ein Musikinstrument aus Holz FIFE steht als Abkürzung für:… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fife — (f[imac]f), n. [F. fifre, OHG. pf[=i]fa, LL. pipa pipe, pipare to play on the pipe, fr. L. pipire, pipare, to peep, pip, chirp, as a chiken. See {Pipe}.] (Mus.) A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fife — Fife, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Fifed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {fifing}.] To play on a fife. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fife [1] — Fife (spr. Feif), Grafschaft im südlichen Schottland, 22,35 QM.; grenzt an die Nordsee, an die Grafschaften Perth, Clackmannan u. Kinroß; im NW. gebirgig (die Lomond Hills mit dem West Lomond 1721 Fuß u. East Lomond 1376 Fuß hoch), im SO. flach u …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Fife — Fife, WA U.S. city in Washington Population (2000): 4784 Housing Units (2000): 2232 Land area (2000): 5.564485 sq. miles (14.411949 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.094154 sq. miles (0.243858 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.658639 sq. miles (14.655807… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Fife, WA — U.S. city in Washington Population (2000): 4784 Housing Units (2000): 2232 Land area (2000): 5.564485 sq. miles (14.411949 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.094154 sq. miles (0.243858 sq. km) Total area (2000): 5.658639 sq. miles (14.655807 sq. km)… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • fife — 1550s, from Ger. Pfeife fife, pipe, from O.H.G. pfifa, or via M.Fr. fifre (15c.) from the same O.H.G. word; ultimately imitative. German musicians provided music for most European courts in those days. As a verb from 1590s. Agent noun fifer is… …   Etymology dictionary

  • fife — [fīf] n. [Ger pfeife, a pipe, fife < MHG pfife < OHG pfifa < VL * pipa, PIPE] a small flute having from six to eight finger holes, and usually no keys, used mainly with drums in playing marches vt., vi. fifed, fifing to play on a fife… …   English World dictionary

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