latifundium

[ lat-uh-fuhn-dee-uhm ]

noun

, Roman History.

, plural lat·i·fun·di·a [lat-, uh, -, fuhn, -dee-, uh].

1. a great estate.

latifundium

/ ˌlætɪˈfʌndɪəm /

noun

1. a large agricultural estate, esp one worked by slaves in ancient Rome

Word History and Origins

Origin of latifundium¹

1620–30; < Latin, equivalent to lāt ( us ) wide, broad + -i- -i- + fund ( us ) a piece of land, farm, estate + -ium -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of latifundium¹

C17: from Latin lātus broad + fundus farm, estate

Example Sentences

But clearly the long tradition of latifundia — injustice favoring the landed elites and police — leaves people without a hope of getting a better life.

From Washington Post

Natural conditions mark out Ireland as a pastoral and cattle-breeding country; and such a country is the destined home of latifundia.

From Project Gutenberg

The situation is scarcely better in parts of the country which are free from latifundia.

From Project Gutenberg

What were really “latifundia” were created, “great landes,” “enclosures of a mile or two or thereabouts ... destroying thereby not only the farms and cottages within the same circuits, but also the towns and villages adjoining.”

From Project Gutenberg

Partly a cause and partly a result of the spread of the latifundia was the decline of the free Italian peasantry.

From Project Gutenberg