Feudal Meaning
/ˈfjuːdəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf, or relating to feudalism.
Sentence Examples
In feudal Japan, the lord with the largest land holdings was called a "daimyo."
It seems a bit feudal to call him "sir".
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ system gave land to lords in exchange for service.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Under the ____ system, peasants worked on the land owned by a lord in exchange for protection.
Word Origin & History
From Old French feodal, from Medieval Latin feodalis, from feodum, feudum, fevum (“fief, fee”), from Frankish *fehu (“cattle, owndom, property, fee”), from Proto-Germanic *fehu (“cattle”). By surface analysis, feud (“estate”) + -al. More at fee.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And the birth of nations implies many artifices: Not only are they constituted in an active struggle against the imperial or evolved systems, the feudal systems, and the autonomous cities, but they crush their own "minorities," in other words, minoritarian phenomena that could be termed "nationalitarian," which work from within and if need be turn to the old codes to find a greater degree of freedom."
— 1987, Deleuze & Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus, page 456:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ system gave land to lords in exchange for service.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Under the ____ system, peasants worked on the land owned by a lord in exchange for protection.