n. 1 lackey or lacquey, scullion, serf, slave-girl, slaveling, odalisque or odalisk, bondservant, bondslave, bondsman or bondman, bondswoman or bondwoman, bondmaid, vassal, Derogatory chiefly Brit skivvy, Archaic esne, helot, hierodule, Colloq Brit slavey In ancient times, captured peoples and those of lower social status were kept as slaves 2 drudge, workhorse, hack, grind, toiler, labourer, Chiefly Brit fag, dogsbody, Colloq US gofer Susan was a slave to her job for years, only to be sacked without a pension by the new owners
v. 3 labour, toil, moil, grind, grub, drudge, sweat, burn the midnight oil, lucubrate, work one's fingers to the bone, work like a Trojan or a horse, Brit skivvy He was slaving over an essay that was due the following morning