bond servant
- noun
- /bɑnd ˈsɜrvənt/
- Archaic
:
sirviente vinculado
- In ancient times, a bond servant worked for a landowner in exchange for basic necessities like food and shelter.
Examples
-
During the harsh winter, the bond servants labored tirelessly in the fields to fulfill their obligations.
-
And Johnson argued that recalcitrant bond servants should be kept permanently by the people who owned them, as I recall the matter.
-
And Johnson argued that recalcitrant bond servants should be kept permanently by the people who owned them, as I recall the matter.
-
Thanks is given to god the almighty and prays for the wrath that came, the dead who were judged, and the bond servants rewarded.
-
Many bond servants hoped to earn their freedom by proving their loyalty and hard work over the years.
Synonyms
746
3.4
A person legally owned by someone else who must work without pay or freedom
19
9.4
A person in the Middle Ages who must work a lord's land and cannot leave
1
9.9
A person forced to row a ship as a slave, often meaning someone who does very hard work
1
9.9
A person who must work for another person by law, often like a servant in the past
1
9.9
A person legally forced to work for another without pay
1
9.9
A woman who is owned by someone and forced to work
1
9.9
A woman forced to work for another person without pay
A man who is forced to work for another person and has no freedom
A woman held as a slave who is forced to work without pay
Antonyms
How Free
- Archaic
∞
1.4
248
3.0
19
9.4
- Archaic
746
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person bound to work for another' is directly derivable from combining 'bond' (a tie or obligation) with 'servant' (a worker), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer servitude or being legally/contractually bound to serve. Although the term is somewhat formal or archaic in modern use, its composition is regular and cross-linguistically transparent.
Etymology
Bond servant comes from a time when a person signed a bond, a written promise that made them a servant for someone else. This image of a person held by a promise explains why bond servant means someone who must 'work for another without pay'.