peonage

[pee-uh-nij]

pe·on·age

[pee-uh-nij]
noun
1.
the condition or service of a peon.
2.
the practice of holding persons in servitude or partial slavery, as to work off a debt or to serve a penal sentence.

Origin:
1840–50, Americanism; peon1 + -age
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Peonage is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
peonage or peonism (ˈpiːənɪdʒ, ˈpiːəˌnɪzəm)
 
n
1.  the state of being a peon
2.  a system in which a debtor must work for his creditor until the debt is paid off
 
peonism or peonism
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
peonage [(pee-uh-nij)]

A system of forced labor based on debts incurred by workers. Peonage developed particularly in plantation economies, where employers forced laborers to buy from employer-owned stores, pay inflated prices, and stay in debt.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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