-d ə lˌizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: feudal (I) + -ism
1.
a. : the system of polity flourishing in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th centuries, based upon the relation of lord to vassal with the holding of all land in fee (as of the king), and having as its principal incidents homage, service of tenants under arms and in court, wardship, and forfeiture
b. : the principles or relations and usages on which the feudal system was based — compare commendation , feud , liege , lord , precarium , vassal
2. : any social system in which great landowners or hereditary overlords exact revenue from the land and also exercise the functions of government in their domains
3. : control by an entrenched minority especially for its own benefit : social, political, or economic oligarchy
he was a pioneer of industrial feudalism , a benevolent despot — F.W.Coburn