bondage

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval Latin bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“householder, husband, head of a family”), of Old Norse origin. Sense development influenced by the unrelated terms bond and bind.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bond‧age

Noun

bondage (countable and uncountable, plural bondages)

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

   Antonym: freedom

   debt bondage

   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 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLC:

     "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.

   Antonym: freedom

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

3. (sex) The practice of physically restraining people for sexual pleasure, such as by tying up or shackling.

   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

See also

• BDSM
• S&M

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• dogbane, endobag, gone bad

Etymology

Borrowed from English bondage.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɔnˈdaː.ʒə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bon‧da‧ge
• Rhymes: -aːʒə

Noun

bondage f (uncountable)

1. bondage (BDSM sexual practice involving physical restraining)

Noun

bondage m (plural bondages)

1. bondage (sexual practice)

Noun

bondage

1. bondage (sexual practice)

See also

• BDSM

References

• bondage in Svensk ordbok (SO)