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Meaning & use

feudal lord

noun·Advanced

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UK/ˌfjuː.dəl ˈlɔːd/
US/ˌfjuː.dəl ˈlɔːrd/

Meanings

  1. nouncountablespecialist

    In medieval Europe, a landowner who gave land to lesser men in return for loyalty and military help, and who in turn served a higher ruler.

    Grammar: Countable: one feudal lord, many feudal lords.

    Patterns

    • a feudal lord and his vassals
    • serve a feudal lord

    The knight swore loyalty to his feudal lord and promised to fight for him.

    Each feudal lord ruled the peasants who worked his estate.

    A powerful feudal lord could raise hundreds of armed men.

  2. nouncountablefigurative

    Someone with great power over a region or group who rules it almost like a personal kingdom.

    Grammar: Used figuratively, often about modern leaders with too much control.

    Patterns

    • act like a feudal lord

    Critics said the factory owner behaved like a feudal lord in the town.

    The warlord ruled the valley as a modern feudal lord.

    Local feudal lords controlled the roads and demanded payment from travelers.

Word forms

pluralfeudal lords

Common combinations

serve a feudal lord
Many knights served a feudal lord for most of their lives.
powerful feudal lord
The powerful feudal lord kept a private army.
local feudal lord
The villagers paid rent to the local feudal lord.
swear loyalty to a feudal lord
He knelt to swear loyalty to his feudal lord.
feudal lord's castle
The feudal lord's castle stood above the village.

Synonyms and how they differ

overlord
Overlord stresses holding power over other lords, while feudal lord names a rank in the system.
baron
Baron is a specific noble title, whereas feudal lord is a general description of the role.
landlord
Landlord today means someone who rents out property, without the medieval duties of a feudal lord.
liege
Liege stresses the lord to whom a vassal owes loyalty.

Opposites

vassalserf

Word family

feudal adjective
relating to the system of land and loyalty in medieval Europe
feudalism noun
the medieval social system built on land grants and service
feudalistic adjective
like or relating to feudalism
fief noun
land held by a vassal from a lord

Commonly confused: feudal lord or landlord?

feudal lord vs landlord

A landlord rents out property today. A feudal lord belonged to a medieval system of land, service and war.

Practice

In medieval Europe, a vassal received land from a feudal lord and in return had to ___.

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