Feudalism - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

feu·dal·ism

Audio Help [fyood-l-iz-uh

m] Pronunciation Key

–noun

the feudal system, or its principles and practices.

[Origin: 1830–40; feudal¹ + -ism

]

—Related forms

feu·dal·ist, noun

feu·dal·is·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Feudalism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

feu·dal·ism Audio Help (fyōōd'l-ĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

A political and economic system of Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century, based on the holding of all land in fief or fee and the resulting relation of lord to vassal and characterized by homage, legal and military service of tenants, and forfeiture.
A political, economic, or social order resembling this medieval system.

feu'dal·ist n., feu'dal·is'tic adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

feudalism
noun
the social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.)

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.

[Chapter:] World History to 1550

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Feudalism

Feu"dal*ism\, n. [Cf. F. f['e]odalisme.] The feudal system; a system by which the holding of estates in land is made dependent upon an obligation to render military service to the kind or feudal superior; feudal principles and usages.

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