feudalism

American  

[fyood-l-iz-uhm] / ˈfyud lˌɪz əm /

noun

1. the feudal system, or its principles and practices.

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feudalism British  

/ ˈfjuːdəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. Also called: feudal system.  the legal and social system that evolved in W Europe in the 8th and 9th centuries, in which vassals were protected and maintained by their lords, usually through the granting of fiefs, and were required to serve under them in war See also vassalage fief

2. any social system or society, such as medieval Japan or Ptolemaic Egypt, that resembles medieval European feudalism

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feudalism Cultural  

1. A system of obligations that bound lords and their subjects in Europe during much of the Middle Ages. In theory, the king owned all or most of the land and gave it to his leading nobles in return for their loyalty and military service. The nobles in turn held land that peasants, including serfs, were allowed to farm in return for the peasants' labor and a portion of their produce. Under feudalism, people were born with a permanent position in society. (See fief and vassal.)

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Discover More

Today, the word feudal is sometimes used as a general term for a set of social relationships that seems unprogressive or out of step with modern society.

Other Word Forms

• antifeudalism noun
• antifeudalist noun
• antifeudalistic adjective
• feudalist noun
• feudalistic adjective
• prefeudalism noun

Etymology

Origin of feudalism

First recorded in 1830–40; feudal ( def. ) + -ism

Example Sentences

To be clear, “racial feudalism” is a term I’ve developed to describe how prominent Black liberals before the Civil War characterized slavery in the South and prejudice in the North.

From Salon

Individual rights would have to make room for states' rights; optimism for pessimism; a republic of consumers for an apartheid state; capitalism for feudalism.

From Salon

Lu's biting critiques of feudalism and oppression are familiar enough for them to turn into viral, even subversive memes - and yet safe enough from the censure of the Party.

From BBC

He was a marvelous paradox: an alienated Everyman, a dignified buffoon, an avatar of ordinary Italianness menaced on one side by modern materialism and on the other by the encrusted legacies of feudalism and fascism.

From New York Times

The only true way out of the quagmire of this technological feudalism into which we've plunged ourselves is by following the sewage to the source.

From Salon

Related Words

• bondage
• captivity
• enslavement
• serfdom
• servitude
• subjugation