feudalism
[fyood-l-iz-uh m]
- the feudal system, or its principles and practices.
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Origin of feudalism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for feudalistic
Historical Examples
They were from a feudalistic world and tried to portray the Aztecs in such terms.
AdaptationDallas McCord Reynolds
It's not possible in a primitive nor even a feudalistic society.
CombatDallas McCord Reynolds
The most advanced culture on Rigel's first planet is to be compared to the Italian cities during Europe's feudalistic era.
AdaptationDallas McCord Reynolds
His plans were a curious composition of socialistic and feudalistic features.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 1 (of 2)William Denison Lyman
Reason told Raul that he himself could not alter, singlehanded, the feudalistic setup of the hacienda system.
When the Owl CriesPaul Bartlett
feudalism
- 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 warSee also vassalage, fief
- any social system or society, such as medieval Japan or Ptolemaic Egypt, that resembles medieval European feudalism
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for feudalistic
feudalism
n.
a coinage of historians, first attested 1839; see feudal. Feudal system attested from 1776.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
feudalism
[(fyoohd-l-iz-uhm)]
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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Note
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.