bondage

English

Etymology

From Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval 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 Old Norse origin.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

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

Antonyms

• freedom

Derived terms

• embondage

Translations

The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery

• Bulgarian: ро́бство (bg) n (róbstvo)
• Catalan: esclavitud
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 奴役 (zh) (núyì), 束縛／束缚 (zh) (shùfù), 束缚 (zh) (shùfù)

• Danish: slaveri (da) n
• Finnish: orjuus (fi)
• French: esclavage (fr) m, servitude (fr) f
• Georgian: მონობა (monoba)
• German: Sklaverei (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: δουλεία f (douleía)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hindi: ग़ुलामी f (ġulāmī), बन्दगी (hi) f (bandagī)
• Irish: giallacht f
• Italian: schiavitù (it) f
• Latin: captivitas, captivitatis
• Maori: ponongatanga, whakapononga
• Portuguese: escravidão (pt) f
• Russian: ра́бство (ru) n (rábstvo), нево́ля (ru) f (nevólja)
• Spanish: esclavitud (es) f
• Swedish: slaveri (sv) n
• Turkish: esaret (tr), esirlik (tr), kölelik (tr)

The state of lacking freedom; constraint

• Bulgarian: ограничение (bg) n (ograničenie)
• Finnish: orjuus (fi)
• French: esclavage (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Pflicht (de) f
• Russian: зави́симость (ru) f (zavísimostʹ)
• Turkish: görev (tr)

The practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人身依附 (rénshēn yīfù), 綁縛／绑缚 (zh) (bǎngfù), 绑缚 (zh) (bǎngfù, bǎngfú)

• Czech: bondáž f
• Danish: bindeleg c
• Finnish: sitomisleikit pl, sitominen (fi)
• French: bondage (fr) m
• Georgian: ბონდაჟი (bondaži)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Bondage (de) f
• Irish: cuibhriú m
• Italian: bondage (it) m
• Japanese: ボンデージ (bondēji)
• Russian: бонда́ж (ru) m (bondáž)
• Spanish: bondage (es) m

See also

• BDSM
• S&M

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• dogbane, endobag, gone bad

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Spanish

Noun

bondage m (plural bondages)

1. bondage (sexual practice)