bondage
[ bon-dij ]
/ ˈbɒn dɪdʒ /
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noun
slavery or involuntary servitude; serfdom.
the state of being bound by or subjected to some external power or control.
the state or practice of being physically restrained, as by being tied up, chained, or put in handcuffs, for sexual gratification.
Early English Law. personal subjection to the control of a superior; villeinage.
OTHER WORDS FOR bondage
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Origin of bondage
synonym study for bondage
1. See slavery.
historical usage of bondage
Bondage is a word that goes back to Middle English, borrowed both from Anglo-French bondage and from Anglo-Latin bondagium.
The element bond- comes from the Middle English noun bond(e) “tenant farmer (as opposed to a freeholder),” which developed from Old English bonda “husband, householder, head of a family,” a borrowing from Old Norse bōndi, from older boandi “freeborn farmer,” a noun use of the present participle of the verb būa, bōa “to live; make ready, prepare.” The suffix -age comes partly from Anglo-French and Old French -age, from the Medieval Latin noun suffix -āgium, from Latin -āticum.
The sense “the state or practice of being physically restrained for sexual gratification” first appeared in the 1960s.
The element bond- comes from the Middle English noun bond(e) “tenant farmer (as opposed to a freeholder),” which developed from Old English bonda “husband, householder, head of a family,” a borrowing from Old Norse bōndi, from older boandi “freeborn farmer,” a noun use of the present participle of the verb būa, bōa “to live; make ready, prepare.” The suffix -age comes partly from Anglo-French and Old French -age, from the Medieval Latin noun suffix -āgium, from Latin -āticum.
The sense “the state or practice of being physically restrained for sexual gratification” first appeared in the 1960s.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for bondage
bondage
/ (ˈbɒndɪdʒ) /
noun
slavery or serfdom; servitude
Also called: villeinage (in medieval Europe) the condition and status of unfree peasants who provided labour and other services for their lord in return for holdings of land
a sexual practice in which one partner is physically bound
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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