Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

bondman

[bond-muh n]
See more synonyms for bondman on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural bond·men.
  1. a male slave.
  2. a man bound to service without wages.
  3. Old English Law. a villein or other unfree tenant.
Show More
Also bondsman.

Origin of bondman

First recorded in 1200–50, bondman is from the Middle English word bonde man. See bond2, man1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bondman

Historical Examples

  • A bondman's change from the tyranny of another to the despotism of himself.

    The Devil's Dictionary

    Ambrose Bierce

  • I came a freeman into prison; I will not go forth a bondman.

  • You had proof of my faith in you when I became your bondman.

    The Weathercock

    George Manville Fenn

  • The blows were the stripes which the master inflicts upon his bondman.

    Watch and Wait

    Oliver Optic

  • Henceforth he was the bondman of grace, the celebrant of grace.

Word Origin and History for bondman

n.

mid-13c., "husband, husbandman," from Middle English bond (see bondage) + man (n.). Later, "man in bondage, slave" (mid-14c.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper