Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state of being in the power of another person or under the sway of an influence.
  • noun One, such as a slave or serf, who is held in bondage.
  • noun One who is in the power of another or under the sway of an influence.
  • transitive verb To enslave.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A slave; a serf; a bondman; a captive.
  • noun One who is a slave to some desire, appetite, spell, or other influence; one who is in moral bondage.
  • noun Thraldom, literal or figurative; bondage; slavery; subjection.
  • noun A shelf or stand; a stand for barrels.
  • Enslaved; bond; subjugated.
  • Figuratively, subject; enthralled.
  • To deprive of liberty; enslave.
  • Figuratively, to put in subjection to some power or influence; enthrall.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb Obs. or Poetic To enslave.
  • noun A slave; a bondman.
  • noun Slavery; bondage; servitude; thraldom.
  • noun Prov. Eng. A shelf; a stand for barrels, etc.
  • adjective obsolete Of or pertaining to a thrall; in the condition of a thrall; bond; enslaved.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who is enslaved or mind-controlled.
  • noun uncountable The state of being under the control of another person.
  • verb To make a thrall.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone held in bondage
  • noun the state of being under the control of another person

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, slave, slavery, from Old English thrǣl, slave, bondman, from Old Norse thrǣll.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English þrǣl, from Old Norse þræll ("slave") whence the Icelandic þræll ("slave"); according to ODS probably akin to Old High German drigil, servant, to the Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þragjan) and to the Old English þrægan, to run

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Examples

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  • From the OED online:

    One who is in bondage to a lord or master; a villein, serf, bondman, slave; also, in vaguer use, a servant, subject; transf. one whose liberty is forfeit; a captive, prisoner of war.

    Usage: c950 Lindisfarne Gospels, Mark x. 44 "And sua huæ see wælle in iuh formest wosa bie allra ræl." 991 Laws of Æthelred II. c. 5 §1 "yf Englisc man Deniscne ræl ofslea, ylde hine mid punde."

    Wow.

    March 7, 2007

  • He might be in sexual thrall to Isabel, he might even love her and the danger she represented, but I didn't think his heart and mind were wholly committed to her. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas

    December 11, 2010

  • its penetrating ammonia scent held us in thrall

    August 25, 2011