corvée

American  

[kawr-vey] / kɔrˈveɪ /

noun

1. unpaid labor for one day, as on the repair of roads, exacted by a feudal lord.

2. an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services, as repair of roads, bridges, etc., for little or no remuneration.

---

corvée British  

/ ˈkɔːveɪ /

noun

1. European history a day's unpaid labour owed by a feudal vassal to his lord

2. the practice or an instance of forced labour

---

Etymology

Origin of corvée

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin corrogāta contribution, collection, noun use of feminine of Latin corrogātus (past participle of corrogāre to collect by asking), equivalent to cor- cor- + rogā ( re ) to ask + -tus past participle suffix

Example Sentences

To do so, they resurrected corvée, a 19th-century Haitian law for indentured labor.

From New York Times • May 20, 2022

True, the abolition of the corvée, of main morte, and of servitudes were measures that met with the approval of all right-minded men, including the King of France himself.

From Secret Societies And Subversive Movements by Webster, Nesta H.

By the legislation of that day, common to several countries besides Poland, these peasants were to a great extent under his power, and were compelled to the corvée.

From Kościuszko A Biography by Gardner, Monica M. (Monica Mary)

Something analogous to the corvée existed, I believe, in Hungary till a comparatively recent period, when it was commuted for rent.

From Disturbed Ireland Being the Letters Written During the Winter of 1880-81. by Becker, Bernard H.

A right like the corvée had a sinister meaning.

From A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs The Story of a Hundred Years, 1761-1861 by Wrong, George McKinnon