servitude

Definition

The state of being a slave; slavery; being forced to work for others or do their bidding without one's consent or against one's will, either in perpetuity or for a period of time over which one has little or no control.

Etymology

From Middle French servitude, from Latin servitūdō, from Latin servus (“slave”). Equivalent to serve + -itude.

Example Sentences

• "In spite of the importance of this route it remained until a few years ago very insecure. Overhung almost its entire length by the inaccessible fastnesses of Lololand, the passing caravans dared journey only with convoy, and even then were frequently overwhelmed by raiders from the hills, who carried off both trader and goods into the mountains, the former to lifelong servitude."
• "Balfour, who had sought refuge in Argentina, was extradited, and sentenced to a long term of penal servitude at Parkhurst Prison in the Isle of Wight."
• "The Enlightment worldview, which considered the order of "Nature" as a basis and, at the same time, the subject of explorations of scientific natural sciences, has, at the same time, considered this order as a criterion of the artistically-aesthetic qualities of art. From an "ideological" point of view, it liberated art from its feudal religious and courtly servitude."

Related Words