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villeinage

or vil·lain·age, vil·lan·age, vil·len·age

[vil-uh-nij]
See more synonyms for villeinage on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the tenure by which a villein held land and tenements from a lord.
  2. the condition or status of a villein.
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Origin of villeinage

1275–1325; Middle English vilenage < Anglo-French, Old French. See villein, -age
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

enthrallment, servitude, thralldom, servility, thrall, labor, drudge, restraint, indenture, drudgery, yoke, enslavement, captivity, bondage, work, grind, toil, serfdom, subjection, peonage

Examples from the Web for villeinage

Historical Examples

  • But noblesse,—villeinage,—these are fixed,—may not be overthrown.

    Long Will

    Florence Converse

  • Such redemption was considered a special mark of tenure in villeinage.

    Woman, Church &amp; State

    Matilda Joslyn Gage

  • In England it subsisted for some ages under the name of villeinage.

    Dissertation on Slavery

    St. George Tucker.

  • The total abolition of all villeinage (forced labour) and serfdom.

  • For one thing, the poll-tax was stopped, and the end of villeinage was hastened.

British Dictionary definitions for villeinage

villeinage

villainage

noun (in medieval Europe)
  1. the status and condition of a villein
  2. the tenure by which a villein held his land
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012