What is "dhimmitude"

n. appeasement towards Islamic demands

Dhimmitude is a neologism borrowed from the French language and popularized as a polemical term by writer Bat Ye'or. It bears purposedly some phonetic resemblance with the word servitude; servitude exists both in French and English; dhimmitude was intentionally invented in place of the French "dhimmité" or the English "dhimmity", which should have been the words associated to "dhimma" in a non-polemical setting.

The term has several distinct, but related meanings depending on the author; its scope may be historical only, contemporary only, or both. It may encompass the whole system of dhimma, look only at its subjects (dhimmis), or even apply it outside of any established system of dhimma, often polemically. The term has been criticised by some academic scholars as misleading and Islamophobic.