Bondage Definition

bŏndĭj
noun
The state of one who is bound as a slave or serf.
American Heritage
Serfdom or slavery.
Webster's New World
Subjection to some force, compulsion, or influence; specif., physical restraint as a sadomasochistic technique.
Webster's New World
Webster's New World
The practice of being physically restrained, as with cords or handcuffs, as a means of attaining sexual gratification.
American Heritage
Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Bondage

Noun

Singular:
bondage
Plural:
bondages

Origin of Bondage

  • From Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from Medieval Latin (Anglo-Latin) bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“a tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“a householder, husband, head of a family”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse bōndi, bōandi (“free-born farmer, husband", literally "dweller”), from bōa, būa (“to dwell”), from Proto-Germanic *būaną (“to dwell, wone”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhōw- (“to dwell”). Cognate with Icelandic and Faroese bóndi (“farmer”), Danish bo (“to dwell, wone”), German bauen (“to build”), Dutch boer (“boor, farmer”), English bower. See also neighbour, booth, build.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Anglo-Norman from Middle English bonde serf from Old English bōnda husbandman from Old Norse bōndi present participle of būa to live bheuə- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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