slave

Overview

Meaning Now

• A person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
• A person who is excessively dependent upon or controlled by something else.

Journey

The word is a primary example of how an ethnonym can evolve into a common noun denoting status. During the Middle Ages, the large-scale capture and enslavement of Slavic-speaking peoples in Central and Eastern Europe led to the term 'Slav' being used as a synonym for 'captive' or 'servant' in many European languages, eventually losing its specific ethnic connotation and becoming a general term for an unfree person.

Evolution

1. Proto-Slavic

   *slověninъ

   “Self-designation of the Slavic people”

2. Medieval Latin

   sclavus

   “Slav; captive of Slavic origin”

   By the 9th century, Slavic captives were frequently traded in the Mediterranean and Western Europe.

3. Old French

   esclave

   “captive; slave”

4. Middle English

   sclave

   “captive; unfree person”

Connections

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