abstract:The French word pairie is the equivalent of the English word peerage, in the sense of an individual title carrying the rank of Pair ('peer' in English), which derives from the Latin par 'equal', and signifies the members of an exclusive body of noblemen and prelates, considered to be the highest social order -not taking in account the dynasty- and even in a sense the 'equals' (though subjects and vassals) of the Monarch as he is seen as their primus inter pares. Peerages attached to fiefs were transmissible or inheritable with the fief, and these fiefs are often designated as pairie-duché for duchies and pairie-comté for countships.