slave

(slāv)
n.

1. One bound in servitude as the property of a person or household.
2. One who is abjectly subservient to a specified person or influence: "I was still the slave of education and prejudice" (Edward Gibbon).
3. One who works extremely hard.
4. A machine or component controlled by another machine or component.

intr.v., slaved, slav·ing, slaves.

1. To work very hard or doggedly; toil.
2. To trade in or transport slaves.

[Middle English sclave, from Old French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclāvus, from Sclāvus, Slav (from the widespread enslavement of captured Slavs in the early Middle Ages). See Slav.]

WORD HISTORY   The derivation of the word slave encapsulates a bit of European history and explains why the two words slaves and Slavs are so similar; they are, in fact, historically identical. The word slave first appears in English around 1290, spelled sclave. The spelling is based on Old French esclave from Medieval Latin sclavus, "Slav, slave," first recorded around 800. Sclavus comes from Byzantine Greek sklabos (pronounced sklävōs) "Slav," which appears around 580. Sklavos approximates the Slavs' own name for themselves, the Slověnci, surviving in English Slovene and Slovenian. The spelling of English slave, closer to its original Slavic form, first appears in English in 1538. Slavs became slaves around the beginning of the ninth century when the Holy Roman Empire tried to stabilize a German-Slav frontier. By the 12th century stabilization had given way to wars of expansion and extermination that did not end until the Poles crushed the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald in 1410. • As far as the Slavs' own self-designation goes, its meaning is, understandably, better than "slave"; it comes from the Indo-European root *kleu-, whose basic meaning is "to hear" and occurs in many derivatives meaning "renown, fame." The Slavs are thus "the famous people." Slavic names ending in -slav incorporate the same word, such as Czech Bohu-slav, "God's fame," Russian Msti-slav, "vengeful fame," and Polish Stani-slaw, "famous for withstanding (enemies)."

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noun

One who works or toils tirelessly: drudge, fag, grub, plodder. Informal grind, workhorse. See work/play.

verb

To do tedious, laborious, and sometimes menial work: drudge, grub, plod, slog. Informal grind. See work/play.

n

Definition: servant
Antonyms: free man, master

v

Definition: work very hard
Antonyms: be lazy, slack

Routes of the Underground Railroad

It wasn't underground and it wasn't a railroad, but the system that helped black slaves escape to freedom was fast and powerful, earning the name Underground Railroad. Between 1830 and 1860, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the North — many of them to Canada — via the secret system. Many free blacks were among the church leaders, abolitionists and philanthropists who helped the slaves on their journey. On this date in 1838, Frederick Douglass began his trip to freedom, when he boarded a northbound train in Baltimore, MD, making his way to New York. Later, he became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, September 3, 2007

sign description: Both S-hands are held together at the wrists.

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Of a gyro, the use of a torquer to maintain the orientation of the spin axis relative to an external reference such as a pendulum or a magnetic compass.

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For a list of words related to slave, see:

• Employers, Employees, and Business People - slave: worker who is owned by master
• General Titles, Positions, and Status - slave: one who is forced to work for no pay
• Occupations and Job Titles
• Behavior or Personality

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See words rhyming with "slave."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Slave.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - slave, træl
v. intr. - slide og slæbe

idioms:

• slave bangle    slavering
• slave driver    slavepisker, slavefoged
• slave labour    slavearbejde
• slave trade    slavehandel

Nederlands (Dutch)
hard werken, slaaf, slavin

Français (French)
n. - esclave, (fig) esclave
v. intr. - travailler dur, trimer

idioms:

• slave bangle    bracelet d'esclave
• slave driver    surveillant d'esclaves, (fig) négrier
• slave labour    travail de forçat, main-d'¯uvre esclave
• slave trade    commerce des esclaves

Deutsch (German)
n. - Sklave
v. - schuften

idioms:

• slave bangle    Armreif
• slave driver    Sklavenaufseher
• slave labour    Sklavenarbeit
• slave trade    Sklavenhandel

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δούλος, σκλάβος, είλωτας, (Η/Υ) τερματικό
v. - δουλεύω σα σκλάβος/είλωτας

idioms:

• slave bangle    σιδερένιος κρίκος (ποδιού) σκλάβου, γυναικείο βραχιόλι που φοριέται στο μπράτσο
• slave driver    επιστάτης δούλων, ψυχοβγάλτης εργοδότης ή προϊστάμενος, εκμεταλλευτής
• slave labour    ειλωτεία, (καθομ.) χαμαλοδουλειά, χαμαλίκι
• slave trade    δουλεμπόριο

Italiano (Italian)
sgobbare, schiavo

idioms:

• slave driver    negriero, schiavista
• slave labour    lavoro da schiavi
• slave trade    tratta degli schiavi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - escravo (m), trabalhar duramente, servo (m)
v. - escravizar

idioms:

• slave driver    feitor de escravos, pessoa que dirige o trabalho de escravos
• slave labour    trabalho de escravo, trabalho escravizante
• slave trade    tráfico de escravos (m)

Русский (Russian)
раб, жертва (идеи), робот, раболепный прислужник, исполнительный механизм манипулятора, вспомогательное устройство, управляемый, исполнительный (механизм), работать до изнеможения, помыкать

idioms:

• slave driver    надсмотрщик над рабами, эксплуататор
• slave labour    рабский труд, работа, сделанная рабами
• slave trade    работорговля

Español (Spanish)
n. - esclavo, siervo
v. intr. - trabajar duro, afanarse

idioms:

• slave bangle    esclava
• slave driver    negrero
• slave labour    trabajo de negros, esclavos, explotación del trabajador
• slave trade    trata de esclavos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - slav, slavinna, träl
v. - slava, träla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
奴隶, 卑鄙的人, 附件, 拼命工作

idioms:

• slave bangle    奴隶手铐, 脚铐, 臂镯, 手镯
• slave driver    监督奴隶工作者, 苛刻的上司
• slave labour    奴役性劳动, 赋役, 强迫劳动, 苦役, 奴隶劳动
• slave trade    贩卖奴隶

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 奴隸, 卑鄙的人, 附件
v. intr. - 拼命工作

idioms:

• slave bangle    奴隸手銬, 腳銬, 臂鐲, 手鐲
• slave driver    監督奴隸工作者, 苛刻的上司
• slave labour    奴役性勞動, 賦役, 強迫勞動, 苦役, 奴隸勞動
• slave trade    販賣奴隸

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 노예, ~에 열중하는 사람, 종속 장치
v. intr. - 노예처럼 뼈빠지게 일하다, 노예 매매를 하다

idioms:

• Great slave    그레이트 슬레이브 (캐나다 북서쪽의 큰 호수)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 奴隷, 奴隷のように働く人, とらわれている人, 虜
v. - 奴隷のように働く

idioms:

• slave bangle    腕輪
• slave driver    奴隷監督者, 部下をこき使う上役
• slave labour    強制労働者, 奴隷のような労働
• slave trade    奴隷売買

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ألجاريه, ألامه, ألعبد, ألرقيق (فعل) يتجر بالرقيق, يكدح, يستعبد, يسترق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עבד, שפחה, משועבד‬
v. intr. - ‮מכור, עבד קשה, עמל‬

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