First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1slave
noun \ˈslāv\
: someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person without pay
: a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something
Full Definition of SLAVE
1
: a person held in servitude as the chattel of another
2
: one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence
3
: a device (as the printer of a computer) that is directly responsive to another
See slave defined for English-language learners
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Origin of SLAVE
Middle English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slavic; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the early Middle Ages
Other Government and Politics Terms
2slave
verb
: to work very hard
slavedslav·ing
Full Definition of SLAVE
transitive verb
1
archaic : enslave
2
: to make directly responsive to another mechanism
intransitive verb
1
: to work like a slave : drudge
2
: to traffic in slaves
See slave defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of SLAVE
1602
Slave
geographical name \ˈslāv\
Definition of SLAVE
river 258 miles (415 kilometers) Canada flowing from W end of Lake Athabasca N into Great Slave Lake
SLAVE[1] Defined for Kids
1slave
noun \ˈslāv\
Definition of SLAVE for Kids
1
: a person who is owned by another person and can be sold at the owner's will
2
: a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something <a slave to fashion>
3
: drudge
2slave
verb
slavedslav·ing
Definition of SLAVE for Kids
: to work very hard, for long hours, or under difficult conditions <… I could only see myself slaving … in the tobacco fields. — Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped>
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