n. [ LL. bondagium. See Bond, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. The state of being bound; condition of being under restraint; restraint of personal liberty by compulsion; involuntary servitude; slavery; captivity. [ 1913 Webster ] The King, when he designed you for my guard, Resolved he would not make my bondage hard. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Obligation; tie of duty. [ 1913 Webster ] He must resolve by no means to be . . . brought under the bondage of observing oaths. South. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. (Old Eng. Law) Villenage; tenure of land on condition of doing the meanest services for the owner. [ 1913 Webster ] Syn. -- Thralldom; bond service; imprisonment. [ 1913 Webster ] |