Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to feudalize

to feudalize

1 9.9
To make a country where lords give land to people in return for service
  • verb
  • /ˈfjuːdəlˌaɪz/
  • US
: feudalizar
  • To strengthen his rule, he sought to feudalize the nation by giving land to loyal supporters.

Examples

  • The king's reforms aimed to feudalize the newly conquered territories, establishing local lords in power.

  • Many historians argue that the empire began to feudalize its provinces in an effort to maintain control.

  • In fact, in the early Middle Ages, worship was as feudalized as government.

    Blog text (27)

Surface Forms

feudalize infinitive
feudalized past
feudalized past participle
feudalizing present participle
feudalizes third person singular

Morphology

feudalize = feudal (transparent) = feudal + ize

The verb is a regular derivation from the adjective 'feudal' using the productive suffix '-ize' meaning 'to make or render'.

Etymology

Feudalize comes from feudal, from an old word fief meaning 'land given in return for service', and it is related to the common English word fee 'payment'. So, to feudalize a country is to put that system in place, where land and service bind people to lords and create levels of control.