peonage
[pee-uh-nij]
noun
the condition or service of a peon.
the practice of holding persons in servitude or partial slavery, as to work off a debt or to serve a penal sentence.
RELATED WORDS
serfdom, enslavement, bondage, subjugation, labor, servitude, captivity, yoke, thralldom, thrall, obedience, confinement, subjection, bonds, vassalage, enthrallment, restraint, work, grind, drudgery
Origin of peonage
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for peonage
Historical Examples of peonage
Is it a wonder that he has resolved to go where peonage and blood-hounds are unknown?
The master was tried for peonage in Texas, but was not convicted.
The Southern SouthAlbert Bushnell Hart
However, the peonage system is not hideous everywhere and in all its aspects.
The Andes of Southern PeruIsaiah Bowman
The truth is that peonage is repugnant to the average American.
The Philippines Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)Dean Conant Worcester
But they were just a bunch of pariahs shipped here to live in peonage.
Badge of InfamyLester del Rey
peonage
peonism (ˈpiːəˌnɪzəm)
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
peonage
[(pee-uh-nij)]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.