corvée

American  

[kawr-vay] / 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.

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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

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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

See Examples For:

corvée

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

From New York Times ● May 20, 2022

“It narrates dramatically the outstanding episodes; the perilous corvée of bringing up fresh supplies of cartridges, the digging of an advance trench under fire, the pinioning of a comrade suddenly seized with dementia.”

From The Jervaise Comedy by J. D. (John Davys) Beresford

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 Nesta H. Webster

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 Bernard H. Becker

"Duty work," so far as I can gather, is, or was—for no such work will be done again in Ireland—a modified, form of the corvée.

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