Bondage
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The word bondage, which is derived from the Middle English word for a serf, is today used in several different senses:
- The word bondage in its literal sense refers to a state of slavery or captivity, as in the "bondage of the Israelites" or in the title of My Bondage and My Freedom.
- In the context of BDSM, bondage is the practice of tying people up for their (or others') pleasure.
- The practice of debt bondage is a latter-day variant of slavery in which people are bound by debt, rather than legal ownership.
- The term bondage is also used figuratively in religion, to mean spiritual attachment, such as to the physical world, or an evil compelling force, such as original sin.