Slave trade

Slave trade
Slave Slave (sl[=a]v), n. [Cf. F. esclave, D. slaaf, Dan. slave, sclave, Sw. slaf, all fr. G. sklave, MHG. also slave, from the national name of the Slavonians, or Sclavonians (in LL. Slavi or Sclavi), who were frequently made slaves by the Germans. See {Slav}.] 1. A person who is held in bondage to another; one who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who is held as a chattel; one who has no freedom of action, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another. [1913 Webster]

Art thou our slave, Our captive, at the public mill our drudge? --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2. One who has lost the power of resistance; one who surrenders himself to any power whatever; as, a slave to passion, to lust, to strong drink, to ambition. [1913 Webster]

3. A drudge; one who labors like a slave. [1913 Webster]

4. An abject person; a wretch. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{Slave ant} (Zo["o]l.), any species of ants which is captured and enslaved by another species, especially {Formica fusca} of Europe and America, which is commonly enslaved by {Formica sanguinea}.

{Slave catcher}, one who attempted to catch and bring back a fugitive slave to his master.

{Slave coast}, part of the western coast of Africa to which slaves were brought to be sold to foreigners.

{Slave driver}, one who superintends slaves at their work; hence, figuratively, a cruel taskmaster.

{Slave hunt}. (a) A search after persons in order to reduce them to slavery. --Barth. (b) A search after fugitive slaves, often conducted with bloodhounds.

{Slave ship}, a vessel employed in the slave trade or used for transporting slaves; a slaver.

{Slave trade}, the business of dealing in slaves, especially of buying them for transportation from their homes to be sold elsewhere.

{Slave trader}, one who traffics in slaves. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Bond servant; bondman; bondslave; captive; henchman; vassal; dependent; drudge. See {Serf}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • slave trade — n. traffic in slaves; specif., the former transportation of black people from Africa to America for sale as slaves …   English World dictionary

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  • slave trade — noun traffic in slaves; especially in Black Africans transported to America in the 16th to 19th centuries (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑slave traffic • Hypernyms: ↑traffic * * * noun : traffic in slaves; especially …   Useful english dictionary

  • slave trade — N SING: the N The slave trade is the buying and selling of slaves, especially Black Africans, from the 16th to the 19th centuries. More than a century and a half since the transatlantic slave trade was abolished, slavery is far from dead …   English dictionary

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