bondmaid: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Very LowArchaic, Historical
Quick answer
What does “bondmaid” mean?
A female slave, particularly one bound to service for life without wages.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A female slave, particularly one bound to service for life without wages.
Historically, a young unmarried woman in a state of servitude or bondage, often serving within a household, whose service was her master's property and could be transferred or sold.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No contemporary difference. The term is archaic and not used in modern English of either variety. Historical usage would have been identical.
Connotations
Carries strong historical and archaic connotations of pre-modern social hierarchies and servitude. In modern discourse, its use is almost exclusively historical or metaphorical for extreme subjugation.
Frequency
Extremely rare/obsolete in both. It is a famous lexicographical case for being one of the words accidentally omitted from the first printed Oxford English Dictionary.
Grammar
How to Use “bondmaid” in a Sentence
[Master/owner] + [verb of possession] + a bondmaid.The bondmaid + [verb of service] + [for/to] + [owner/master].Vocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used only in historical, literary, or feminist scholarship discussing pre-modern labour, slavery, or social structures.
Everyday
Not used. Would be misunderstood or sound archaic/dramatic.
Technical
No technical usage in modern fields. A historical legal term.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “bondmaid”
- Using it to refer to a modern domestic worker.
- Spelling as 'bondmade'.
- Confusing it with 'bondswoman', which can have a slightly broader legal implication.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is an archaic and historical term. You will only encounter it in historical texts, literature, or academic writing about the past.
A bondmaid was legally bound, often for life, and was considered property. A maidservant was a paid domestic worker, free to leave her position.
It was one of the words accidentally omitted from the first printed edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1884, only to be discovered missing decades later.
No. The gendered term for a male in a similar state is 'bondsman' or 'thrall'.
A female slave, particularly one bound to service for life without wages.
Bondmaid is usually archaic, historical in register.
Bondmaid: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbɒndmeɪd/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈbɑːndˌmeɪd/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a BOND as a contract or tie, and a MAID as a female servant. A bondmaid is a servant bound by a lifelong contract of servitude.
Conceptual Metaphor
BONDAGE IS LACK OF FREEDOM; SERVITUDE IS OWNERSHIP.
Practice
Quiz
In which context would the term 'bondmaid' be most appropriately used today?