English
slave
Slave may come from Middle English sclave.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sclaveuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599slave
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sclaveuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1598–1599slave
Earliest quotation: 1598–1599, William Shakespeare: “Art thou the ſlaue that with thy breath haſt…”
The story
Inherited from Middle English sclave, from Old French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus (‘slave’), from Late Latin Sclavus (‘Slav’), traditionally assumed to be 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. An alternative hypothesis derives sclavus from Ancient Greek σκῡλεύω (skūleúō), σκῡλάω (skūláō, “to strip or despoil a slain enemy”).
Every English word from Middle English sclave
Today it means
noun 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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English sclave / slave