| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bondage |
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| SYLLABICATION: | bond·age |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  b n d j |
| NOUN: | 1. The state of one who is bound as a slave or serf. 2. A state of subjection to a force, power, or influence. 3. The practice of being physically restrained, as with cords or handcuffs, as a means of attaining sexual gratification. 4. Villeinage. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Middle English bonde, serf, from Old English b nda, husbandman, from Old Norse bndi, present participle of b a, to live. See bheu - in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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