servitude

noun ser·vi·tude \ ˈsər-və-ˌtüd , -ˌtyüd \

Definition of servitude

1 :a condition in which one lacks liberty especially to determine one's course of action or way of life

2 :a right by which something (such as a piece of land) owned by one person is subject to a specified use or enjoyment by another

See servitude defined for English-language learners

See servitude defined for kids

Examples of servitude in a Sentence

the Fugitive Slave Act had the effect of returning slaves who had made it to freedom in the North to a brutal life of servitude in the South

Recent Examples of servitude from the Web

A basic stipend would free workers from starving or being held in economic servitude, making only enough to pay for enough food to be able to work another 40 hours.

— Cincinnati.com, "Column: Time for a new ‘New Deal’," 24 Aug. 2017
After World War II, the practice, which amounted to indentured servitude for the laborers, was abolished, and many of the farmhouses were put up for sale.

— james tarmy, Bloomberg.com, "A Dreamy, Rustic Italian Life Can Be Yours for $3.76 Million," 9 Aug. 2017
The city would pay for the engineering and any servitude acquisitions that might be necessary for the roundabout.

— richard a. webster, NOLA.com, "Firefighters battle 2-alarm blaze in Irish Channel," 27 July 2017
Franklin knew how Massachusetts radicals like Samuel Adams would interpret these words: Their governor wished to deliver them into servitude.

— matthew c. simpson, New Republic, "Benjamin Franklin and His Son, Divided by Independence," 3 July 2017
This totally messes everything up for her group, and all the other angels are subsequently de-winged too, then forced into servitude making a big, heavy space laser for Altego.

— lauren warnecke, chicagotribune.com, "Review: Chicago Tap's spacey 'Changes' has big themes, daffy plot, Bowie and lasers," 1 July 2017
In the novel and subsequent TV series, a right-wing religious group rules the country and fertile women are forced into reproductive servitude.

— perry stein, Washington Post, "40 arrested as health-care bill protesters swarm Capitol Hill this week," 29 June 2017
The four men were each charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, a class X felony; traveling to meet a minor, a class 3 felony; and grooming, a class 4 felony.

— hannah leone, Aurora Beacon-News, "Aurora man charged with having child porn after officials search phone," 28 June 2017
No one argues that these prisoners aren’t slaves—or even that blacks are more likely to endure this indentured servitude.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Hillary Clinton, Jeff Sessions and America’s Secret Slave System," 12 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'servitude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Servitude is slavery or anything resembling it. The entire black population of colonial America lived in permanent servitude. And millions of the whites who populated this country arrived in "indentured servitude", obliged to pay off the cost of their journey with several years of labor. Servitude comes in many forms, of course: in the bad old days of the British navy, it was said that the difference between going to sea and going to jail was that you were less likely to drown in jail.

Origin and Etymology of servitude

Middle English, from Anglo-French servitute, from Latin servitudo slavery, from servus slave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

servitude Synonyms

Synonyms

bondage, enslavement, servility, slavery, thrall, thralldom (or thraldom), yoke

Antonyms

freedom, liberty

Related Words

peonage, serfdom; dependence (also dependance), subjection, subjugation; captivity, enchainment, imprisonment, incarceration

Near Antonyms

emancipation, enfranchisement, liberation, manumission; autonomy, independence, self-government, sovereignty (also sovranty)

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

SERVITUDE Defined for English Language Learners

servitude

noun

Definition of servitude for English Language Learners

: the condition of being a slave or of having to obey another person

SERVITUDE Defined for Kids

servitude

noun ser·vi·tude \ ˈsər-və-ˌtüd , -ˌtyüd \

Definition of servitude for Students

:the condition of being a slave or of having to obey another

Law Dictionary

servitude

noun ser·vi·tude \ ˈsər-və-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd \

legal Definition of servitude

1 :a condition in which an individual lacks liberty especially to determine his or her course of action or way of life; specifically :the state of being a slave

involuntary servitude

2 :a right by which property owned by one person is subject to a specified use or enjoyment of another —used chiefly in the civil law of Louisiana — see also dominant estate and servient estate at estate 4 — compare easement

— apparent servitude

:a predial servitude whose existence is perceivable by exterior signs or works (as an aqueduct or road) on the property

— legal servitude

:a predial servitude that is created by a limitation under the law on the use of the property

— natural servitude

:a predial servitude that arises from the situation of the estates (as from one being situated downhill from another)

— personal servitude

:a servitude that burdens property in favor of a specific named person — see also right of use, usufruct

— predial servitude

:a servitude that burdens one item of immovable property (as a tract of land) in favor of another

Note: A predial servitude is transferred along with the ownership of the dominant estate, and the servient estate is always taken subject to the servitude. A predial servitude cannot be transferred separately from the dominant estate.