slave

Etymology

From Middle English sclave, from Old French sclave, from Medieval Latin sclāvus (“slave”), from Late Latin Sclāvus (“Slav”), because Slavs were often forced into slavery in the Middle Ages. The Latin word is from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos), see that entry and Slav for more. Displaced native Old English þēow. Thrall and bondsman/bondswoman, however, remain common synonyms. An alternative hypothesis derives sclāvus from Ancient Greek σκῡλεύω (skūleúō), σκῡλάω (skūláō, “to strip or despoil a slain enemy”).

noun

1. A person who is held in servitude as the property of another person, and whose labor (and often also whose body and life) is subject to the owner's volition and control.
   Fear of their cargo bred a savage cruelty into the crew. One captain, to strike terror into the rest, killed a slave and dividing heart, liver and entrails into 300 pieces made each of the slaves eat one, threatening those who refused with the same torture. Such incidents were not rare. 1963, C.L.R. James, The Black Jacobins, 2nd Revised edition, page 9
2. (figurative) A drudge; one who labors or is obliged (e.g. by prior contract) to labor like a slave with limited rights, e.g. an indentured servant.
3. (figurative) An abject person.
4. (figurative) One who has no power of resistance (to something), one who surrenders to or is under the domination (of something).
   a slave to passion, to strong drink, or to ambition
   Slave to the rhythm! / Keep it up, keep it up! / Never stop! Never stop! 1985, “Slave to the Rhythm”, in Slave to the Rhythm, performed by Grace Jones
5. (BDSM) A submissive partner in a BDSM relationship who (consensually) submits to (sexually and/or personally) serving one or more masters or mistresses.
   In the clip the black female “slave” dons a chain around her neck for which her white mistress possesses the key. The black woman sub is further disciplined by the power of speech—the force of silence.] [2016, Ariane Cruz, The Color of Kink: Black Women, BDSM, and Pornography, NYU Press, page 39
6. A sex slave, a person who is forced against their will to perform, for another person or group, sexual acts on a regular or continuing basis.
7. (engineering, computing, photography) A device (such as a secondary flash or hard drive) that is subject to the control of another (a master).
   If you administer your own reverse DNS zones, remember to include them in your slave configuration. 2011, Roderick W. Smith, LPIC-2 Linux Professional Institute Certification Study Guide, John Wiley & Sons

verb

1. To work as a slaver, to enslave people.
   MASSINISSA: Wilt thou be slaved? SOPHONISBA: No, free 1606, John Marston, The Wonder of Women
   The truth is from the Zambesi to Lake Nyasa on the north and east banks of the river, there is nothing but slaving — Africans selling each other . . . 1908, James Wells, Stewart of Lovedale: The Life of James Stewart, D.D., M.D., Hon. F.R.G.S., page 88
   Despite these examples, the majority of enslaved Africans were not able to rely on rulers for help against slaving. Africans living in chiefdoms and villages ruled by allied African authorities were, however, able to use the legal system (Tribunal of Mukanos) in place in the regions under formal Portuguese control […] 2011, David Eltis, Keith Bradley, Paul Cartledge, The Cambridge World History of Slavery: Volume 3, AD 1420-AD 1804, Cambridge University Press, page 128
   With ready access to firearms through trade, the slaving Africans held a distinct upper-hand over the groups they preyed upon, which were often politically and socially weakened or destroyed by the trade. 2016, Thomas Arcaro, Rosemary Haskell, Chinedu Eke, Robert Anderson, Stephen Braye, Ann Cahill, Brian Digre, Anne Bolin, Mathew Gendle, Duane McClearn, Jeffrey Pugh, Laura Roselle, Jean Schwind, Kerstin Sorensen, Anthony Weston, Understanding the Global Experience: Becoming a Responsible World Citizen, Routledge
   Significant impacts resulted from slaving; there is evidence of how communities dealt with the threat and benefits of slaving. Africans provided most of the slaves to European slavers. Most slaves were created either to settle debts or raise funds, through warfare, or as punishment for a real or perceived crime. 2016, Alistair Paterson, A Millennium of Cultural Contact, Routledge, page 117
2. (intransitive) To work hard.
   I was slaving all day over a hot stove.
3. (transitive) To place a device under the control of another.
   to slave a hard disk
   Slaving one digital audio device to another unit using timecode alone results in time-based synchronisation[…] 2005, Simon Millward, Fast Guide to Cubase SX, page 403