semifeudal
/ˌsɛmiˈfjudl/
adjective
- Having some characteristics of feudalism, such as a rigid social hierarchy or land-based economy, but not fully feudal.
- Historians describe the country's economy in the 1800s as semifeudal, with emerging trade alongside old obligations.
- In some semifeudal societies, landowners held great power over workers, even without formal titles.
- The region's semifeudal system still required peasants to give a portion of their crops to the local lord.
Synonyms