ALL meanings of feudalism
feu·dal·ism
F f - noun feudalism system of landowners and serfs 1
- noun feudalism The dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection. 1
- noun feudalism the feudal system, or its principles and practices. 1
- noun feudalism any social system or society, such as medieval Japan or Ptolemaic Egypt, that resembles medieval European feudalism 0
- noun feudalism the economic, political, and social system in medieval Europe, in which land, worked by serfs who were bound to it, was held by vassals in exchange for military and other services given to overlords 0
- noun feudalism a society organized like that in medieval Europe 0
- noun feudalism A social system based on personal ownership of resources and personal fealty between a suzerain (lord) and a vassal (subject). Defining characteristics are direct ownership of resources, personal loyalty, and a hierarchical social structure reinforced by religion. 0
- uncountable noun feudalism Feudalism was a system in which people were given land and protection by people of higher rank, and worked and fought for them in return. 0
- noun feudalism 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 war 0