feudalism

[ fyood-l-iz-uh m ]

/ ˈfyud lˌɪz əm /

noun

the feudal system, or its principles and practices.

Words nearby feudalism

feuar, feuchtwanger, feud, feudal, feudal system, feudalism, feudality, feudalize, feudatory, feudist, feuerbach

Origin of feudalism

First recorded in 1830–40; feudal + -ism

OTHER WORDS FROM feudalism

feu·dal·ist, nounfeu·dal·is·tic, adjectivean·ti·feu·dal·ism, nounan·ti·feu·dal·ist, noun

an·ti·feu·dal·is·tic, adjectivepre·feu·dal·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for feudalistic

The most advanced culture on Rigel's first planet is to be compared to the Italian cities during Europe's feudalistic era.
Adaptation|Dallas McCord Reynolds
They were from a feudalistic world and tried to portray the Aztecs in such terms.
Adaptation|Dallas McCord Reynolds
The capitalist class, far shrewder than the feudalistic rulers, dispenses with personally equipped armed force.
History of the Great American Fortunes, Vol. I|Myers Gustavus
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

Dimly lighted, the heavy oak finish looked the more quaint and feudalistic.
The Cathedral Towns and Intervening Places of England, Ireland and Scotland:|Thomas W. Silloway

British Dictionary definitions for feudalistic

feudalism

/ (ˈfjuːdəˌlɪzəm) /

noun

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

Derived forms of feudalism

feudalist, nounfeudalistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Culture definitions for feudalistic

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.)

notes for feudalism

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.