slave
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
slave¹
- /sleɪv/
Rhymes with -eɪv
Where it comes from
Inherited from Middle English sclave, from Old French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”), from Late Latin Sclavus (“Slav”), traditionally assumed to be because Slavs were often forced into slavery in the Middle Ages. The Latin word is from Medieval Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos); see that entry and Slav for more. Displaced native Old English þēow. Thrall and bondsman/bondswoman, however, remain common synonyms. Doublet of ciao and Slav.
An alternative hypothesis derives sclavus from Ancient Greek σκῡλεύω (skūleúō), σκῡλάω (skūláō, “to strip or despoil a slain enemy”).
noun slaves
- A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition and control. Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare.
- A drudge; one who labors or is obliged (e.g. by prior contract) to labor like a slave with limited rights, e.g. an indentured servant.
-
An abject person.
Art thou the ſlaue that with thy breath haſt kill'd / Mine innocent child?
Similar: wretch
-
One who has no power of resistance to something, one who surrenders to or is under the domination of something.
a slave to passion, to strong drink, or to ambition
Similar: thrall
- A submissive partner in a BDSM relationship who consensually submits to, sexually or personally, serving one or more masters or mistresses. In the clip the black female “slave” dons a chain around her neck for which her white mistress possesses the key. The black woman sub is further disciplined by the power of speech—the force of silence.
- A sex slave, a person who is forced against their will to perform, for another person or group, sexual acts on a regular or continuing basis.
- A device (such as a secondary flash or hard drive) that is subject to the control of another (a master). If you administer your own reverse DNS zones, remember to include them in your slave configuration.
Similar: slave
verb slaves · slaving · slaved
- To work as a slaver, to enslave people. MASSINISSA: Wilt thou be slaved? SOPHONISBA: No, free
- To work hard. I was slaving all day over a hot stove.
- To place a device under the control of another. to slave a hard disk
Slave²
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: slaveholding, servile, bond, knuckle down, buckle down, striver, enthralled, enslaved, hard worker, in bondage, slavery, servitude, enslavement, bondage, thrall, serf
noun
Similar: slave
Translations
Every language
noun person owned by another
| Español | esclavo, esclava |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 노예 noye |
| 日本語 | 奴隷 dorei |
| 中文 | 奴隸 /奴隶 núlì |
| हिन्दी | दास dās, ग़ुलाम ġulām, दासी dāsī |
| Kiswahili | mtumwa |
| Português | escravo, escrava |
| Français | esclave, serf, serve |
| Deutsch | Sklave, Sklavin |
| Italiano | schiavo, schiava |
| Ελληνικά | δούλος doúlos, δούλα doúla, δούλη doúli, σκλάβος sklávos, σκλάβα skláva |
| Română | sclav, rob, serv, șerb |
| Русский | раб rab, рабы́ня rabýnja, раба́ rabá, нево́льник nevólʹnik, нево́льница nevólʹnica |
| Tiếng Việt | nô lệ |
| العربية | عَبْد ʕabd, أَمَة ʔama |
| עברית | עֶבֶד éved, אָמָה amá, שִׁפְחָה shifkhá |
noun person forced to work for another
| Español | esclavo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 노예 noye |
| 日本語 | 奴隷 dorei |
| 中文 | 奴隸 /奴隶 núlì |
| Kiswahili | mtumwa |
| Português | escravo, escrava |
| Français | esclave |
| Deutsch | Sklave, Sklavin |
| Italiano | schiavo |
| Ελληνικά | δούλος doúlos |
| Русский | раб rab, рабы́ня rabýnja, раба́ rabá, нево́льник nevólʹnik, нево́льница nevólʹnica |
noun submissive partner in a BDSM relationship who (consensually) submits to (sexually) serving
| Español | esclavo, esclava |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 奴隸 /奴隶 núlì |
| Português | escravo, escrava |
| Français | esclave |
| Deutsch | Sklave, Sklavin |
| עברית | עבד |
noun person forced to perform sexual acts; (nonconsensual) sex slave
| 한국어 | 노예 noye |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 奴隷 dorei |
| 中文 | 奴隸 /奴隶 núlì |
| Português | escravo, escrava |
| Deutsch | Sexsklave, Sexsklavin |
| Ελληνικά | σκλάβος sklávos, σκλάβα skláva |
| Русский | раб rab, рабы́ня rabýnja, раба́ rabá |
noun device that is controlled by another device
| 日本語 | スレーブ surēbu |
|---|---|
| Português | escravo |
| Deutsch | Slave, Folgegerät |
| Ελληνικά | δευτερεύων defterévon, υποσυσκευή yposyskeví |
| Русский | ведо́мый vedómyj, ведо́мое устро́йство vedómoje ustrójstvo |
Talk about this word "slave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/slave. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. slave. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/slave "slave." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/slave.Cite this
@misc{slave_2026,
title = {slave},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/slave},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
