— slaveless , adj. — slavelike , adj.
/slayv/ , n. , v. , slaved, slaving .
n.
1. a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant.
2. a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person: a slave to a drug.
3. a drudge: a housekeeping slave.
4. a slave ant.
5. Photog. a subsidiary flash lamp actuated through its photoelectric cell when the principal flash lamp is discharged.
6. Mach. a mechanism under control of and repeating the actions of a similar mechanism. Cf. master (def. 19).
v.i.
7. to work like a slave; drudge.
8. to engage in the slave trade; procure, transport, or sell slaves.
v.t.
9. to connect (a machine) to a master as its slave.
10. Archaic. to enslave.
[ 1250-1300; ME sclave sclavus (masc.), sclava (fem.) slave, special use of Sclavus Slav, so called because Slavs were commonly enslaved in the early Middle Ages; see SLAV ]
Syn. 7. toil, labor, slog, grind.