bondage
/ˈbɒndɪdʒ
/noun [mass noun]
1The state of being a slave: the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt’s bondage figurative the bondage of drug addiction...
- He noted that it was significant that after four centuries of bondage the descendants of slaves have become a free and independent people.
- During the nineteenth century, juries as far South as Georgia refused to convict whites who assisted slaves escaping from bondage.
- Furthermore, his 1839 statement reflected a greater concern about the conscience of the slave owner than the physical bondage of the slave.
Synonyms
slavery, enslavement, servitude, subjugation, subjection, oppression, domination, exploitation, persecution;
captivity, imprisonment, incarceration, confinement, detention;
bonds, chains, fetters, shackles, restraints, yoke
literary thraldom, thrall
historical serfdom, vassalage
archaic enthralment, duress
2Sexual practice that involves the tying up or restraining of one partner.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Latin bondagium, from Middle English bond 'serf' (earlier 'peasant, householder'), from Old Norse bóndi 'tiller of the soil', based on búa 'dwell'; influenced in sense by bond.