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corvee

 - 4 dictionary results

cor⋅vée

  [kawr-vey]
Use corvee in a Sentence
–noun
1. unpaid labor for one day, as on the repair of roads, exacted by a feudal lord.
2. an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services, as repair of roads, bridges, etc., for little or no remuneration.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF < LL corrogāta contribution, collection, n. use of fem. of L corrogātus (ptp. of corrogāre to collect by asking), equiv. to cor- cor- + rogā(re) to ask + -tus ptp. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cor·vée   (kôr-vā', kôr'vā')   
n.  

  1. Labor exacted by a local authority for little or no pay or instead of taxes and used especially in the maintenance of roads.

  2. A day of unpaid work required of a vassal by a feudal lord.


[French corvée and Middle English corve, both from Old French corovee, from Medieval Latin (opera) corrogāta, (work) requested, neuter pl. of Latin corrogātus, past participle of corrogāre, to summon together : com-, com- + rogāre, to ask; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

corvée 
1340, "day's unpaid labor due to a lord by vassals under Fr. feudal system" (abolished 1776), from L.L. corrogata (opera) "requested work," from L. corrogare, from com- "with" + rogare "to ask" (see rogation).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

corvee

unpaid work on public projects that is required by law. Under the Roman Empire, certain classes of the population owed personal services to the state or to private proprietors-for example, labour in lieu of taxes for the upkeep of roads, bridges, and dikes; unpaid labour by coloni (tenant farmers) and freedmen on the estates of landed proprietors; and labour requisitioned for the maintenance of the postal systems of various regions. The feudal system of corvee-regular work that vassals owed their lord-developed from this Roman tradition. (The term corvee, meaning contribution, is now often used synonymously with statute labour.)

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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