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Glite Dictionary
enserfment

enserfment

9.9
Making people into serfs who must work for a landowner
  • noun
  • /ˈɛn.sɜr.fmənt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : servidumbre
  • Laws were passed to prevent the enserfment of free peasants during that era.

Examples

  • The enserfment of rural populations changed the structure of medieval society.

  • Historians debate the causes behind the widespread enserfment in Eastern Europe.

  • The enserfment of the peasants was a significant event in history.

  • Many historians study the enserfment of the lower classes in medieval Europe.

  • The enserfment of the peasants meant they had to work for the landowners without any personal freedom.

  • Throughout history, enserfment has often led to a loss of rights and autonomy for the affected individuals.

  • Many historians study the enserfment process to understand the social structures of feudal societies.

Synonyms

enslavement
vsenserfment
  • NSFW
17 6.3

Being forced to work for someone as their slave

binds people to land with hereditary labor obligations under a feudal system

Antonyms

freedom
489 1.1

Not having to do something a rule requires

liberation
127 3.9

The act of setting people free from control or unfair treatment

Surface Forms

enserfment singular
enserfments plural

Morphology

enserfment = enserf (transparent) = en + serf + ment

The noun is transparently formed by adding -ment to the verb 'enserf' (en- 'make' + serf), yielding 'the act or process of making someone a serf.'

Etymology

Enserfment comes from the root serf, which means a 'farm worker tied to the land', plus the beginning en- and the ending -ment. The en- part means 'to make', as in enslave, and -ment turns an action into a thing, so enserfment is the act of making someone a serf.