feudal
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or like the feudal system, or its political, military, social, and economic structure.
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of or relating to the Middle Ages.
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of, relating to, or of the nature of a fief or fee.
a feudal estate.
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of or relating to the holding of land in a fief or fee.
adjective
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of, resembling, relating to, or characteristic of feudalism or its institutions
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of, characteristic of, or relating to a fief Compare allodial
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derogatory old-fashioned, reactionary, etc
adjective
Other Word Forms
- antifeudal adjective
- feudally adverb
- nonfeudal adjective
- nonfeudally adverb
- prefeudal adjective
- quasi-feudal adjective
- quasi-feudally adverb
- unfeudal adjective
- unfeudally adverb
Etymology
Origin of feudal
From the Medieval Latin word feudālis, dating back to 1605–15. See feud 2, -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For most of the 20th century, the prevailing view of Southern plantations was one of feudal estates with accordingly primitive systems for the extraction of labor and thereby profit from bonded toil.
The powers of a landowner can range from the almost full sovereignty enjoyed by a mighty feudal noble to the essentially nonexistent rights I have over the protected swampland outside my window.
When the Song dynasty took over China in the late 10th century, the feudal system that gave aristocrats control of land and peasants in return for military service was breaking down.
But there are significant differences between then and now: Under the feudal system, the lord had, in principle, certain obligations to peasants in addition to his right to command them.
From Salon
The director describes the island's feudal way of life as deceptively safe but ultimately regressive – something Spike comes to realise.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
