latifundium

American  

[lat-uh-fuhn-dee-uhm] / ˌlæt əˈfʌn di əm /

noun

Roman History.

plural

latifundia

1. a great estate.

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latifundium British  

/ ˌlætɪˈfʌndɪəm /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of latifundium

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

Explanation

In ancient Rome, a latifundium was a large agricultural property that was farmed by enslaved people. Most latifundia also had large villas where the landowner lived. Several of the grand manor houses that once sat among each Roman latifundium's acres of farmed fields have been excavated by archaeologists. They reveal additional details of life on the huge landed estates: While wealthy owners decorated their homes with frescoes and lived in comfort, enslaved workers did the hard labor of farming olives, grain, and other lucrative crops. Latifundium, "spacious farm" in Latin, was later used for 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese land grants, which were also farmed by forced laborers.