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.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑn.dɪd͡ʒ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɒn.dɪd͡ʒ/
• Hyphenation: bond‧age

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bondage (countable and uncountable, plural bondages)

1. The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.

   In Judeo-Christian tradition, the Israelites fled bondage at the hands of the Egyptians, only to wander in the wilderness for the next four decades.

   • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

     "She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said," answered the little woman. "She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor."

2. (by extension) The state of lacking freedom; constraint.

   He lived in financial bondage to his cocaine habit; no matter how much he earned, it all seemed to disappear up his nose.

3. The practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure.

   Their marriage broke up when she discovered he had been engaging in bondage games with a local dominatrix while he was supposedly working out at the gym.

4. (attributive) Applied to clothing with many buckles, zips, etc., associated with punk and goth subcultures.

   bondage trousers; bondage jeans; bondage pants

• freedom

• embondage

• BDSM
• S&M

• bondage in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• bondage in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “subjection” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.

• dogbane, endobag, gone bad

bondage m (plural bondages)

1. bondage (sexual practice)