1. large estates or farms, especially in ancient Rome or modern Latin America, typically worked by tenant farmers or laborers
Usage: plural form; singular is latifundium; historical and economic term; often associated with unequal land distribution

Examples

• The Roman latifundia were vast agricultural properties that dominated the countryside.
• In medieval Spain, latifundia controlled much of the arable land.
• The concentration of wealth in latifundia contributed to social inequality in ancient Rome.
• Modern land reform movements have sought to break up latifundia and distribute land to peasants.
• The latifundia system in Latin America created a class of wealthy landowners and poor laborers.
• Historians debate whether latifundia were economically efficient or socially destructive.