'anti-feudalism' originates from combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') and the noun 'feudalism' (ultimately from Medieval Latin 'feodalis' / 'feodum', meaning 'fief' or 'landed estate').

'feudalism' changed from Medieval Latin 'feodalis' and Old French 'feodal', which derived from 'feodum' ('fief'); the prefix 'anti-' comes from Greek 'anti' ('against'); these elements were combined in modern English to form 'anti-feudalism'.

Initially, it meant 'opposition to feudal privileges or fief-based rule', but over time it evolved into the broader political/ideological sense of 'opposition to feudal social and economic structures'.