An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Fehme
Fehme, f., ‘criminal tribunal’ (in Westphalia formerly), from MidHG. veime, f., ‘condemnation, punishment, secret tribunal,’ Goth. *faima, f., would, on the analogy of τέσσαρες, Goth. fidvôr, favour the connection with the root τι in Gr. τίνω, ‘to atone for,’ derived from ki, ‘to punish, avenge’; Gr. ποίνη, as a derivative of the same root, may have been formed with a different suffix from that which appears in Fehme. In spite of the late formation of the word, its origin is difficult to discover and uncertain. Its connection with Du. veem, ‘guild, association,’ is also disputed. Others again refer it to OSax. a-fêhian, ‘to condemn’ (see feige). It is quite impossible to connect it with an older LG. form, Fehme, ‘oak-mast,’ which, with Bav. dehme, deehel, ‘oak-mast,’ belongs to a different stem.