Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “slave” come from?

Slave comes from Old French sclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Latin Sclavus, from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος, from Ancient Greek Σκλαβηνός, referring to Slavic peoples.

slave (English): A person who is held in servitude as the property...

Definitions

  1. A person who is held in servitude as the property...

Ancestry of “slave”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsclave—
2Frenchesclaveslave
3Medieval LatinsclavusSlav, slave; slave
4Ancient GreekΣκλάβοςSlav
5Ancient GreekΣκλαβηνός—
6Proto-SlavicslověninъSlav
7Proto-Slavicslovoword
8Proto-Balto-Slavicślawas—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanḱléwosfame
10Proto-Indo-Europeanḱlew-to hear
11Proto-Indo-Europeanḱel-to cover; to incline

Words derived from “slave”

  • slaves
  • slavery
  • antislavery
  • enslavement
  • enslave
  • slavish
  • slaveholding
  • slaveholder
  • slaving
  • proslavery
  • slavishly
  • slavocracy
  • enslaver
  • slaveowner
  • slavey
  • slavishness
  • nonslaveholding
  • slavemaster
  • bondslave
  • postslavery
  • slavegirl
  • slavelike
  • nonslave
  • reenslave
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱel- →