corvée
[ kawr-vey ]
/ kɔrˈveɪ /
noun
unpaid labor for one day, as on the repair of roads, exacted by a feudal lord.
an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services, as repair of roads, bridges, etc., for little or no remuneration.
Words nearby corvée
corvine, corvisart des marets, corvisart's facies, corvo, corvus, corvée, corwin, cory, coryate, corybant, corybantic
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for corvee
It suggested that other slavery, which did not hide itself under the forms of conscription and corvee.
Donovan Pasha And Some People Of Egypt, Complete|Gilbert ParkerShe thought he was referring obliquely to the corvee and the other thing in which her life-work was involved.
Donovan Pasha And Some People Of Egypt, Complete|Gilbert ParkerI should have been with Yankling Sahib now but for this cursed beegar (the corvee).
Kim|Rudyard Kipling
British Dictionary definitions for corvee
corvée
/ (ˈkɔːveɪ) /
noun
European history a day's unpaid labour owed by a feudal vassal to his lord
the practice or an instance of forced labour
Word Origin for corvée
C14: from Old French, from Late Latin corrogāta contribution, from Latin corrogāre to collect, from rogāre to ask
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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