noun
Meaning 1
A bondman or bondwoman; a slave.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: theowman, thrall
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
A bondman or bondwoman; a slave.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: theowman, thrall
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English theu, thewe (“servant; one bound in service to another, serf; disciple or servant of God; created being; servant of the devil; (figuratively) servant to sin, wealth, etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English þēow, þēo (“servant; slave”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *þeu (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic *þewaz, *þegwaz (“servant; slave”), from Proto-Indo-European *tekwos (“runner”), from Proto-Indo-European *tekw- (“to run; to flow”). Cognates * Dutch dienen (“to serve”) * German dienen (“to serve”) * Gothic 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐍃 (þius, “bondman, slave; servant”) * Old English þegn (“servant; minister; vassal”) * Old High German dio (“unfree”), diu (“servant”)