peonage

[ 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.

peonage

/ ˈpiːəˌnɪzəm; ˈpiːənɪdʒ /

noun

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

peonage

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of peonage¹

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; peon ¹ + -age

Example Sentences

Some 50 million people are in debt peonage to student loan companies.

From Salon

This debt peonage forces graduates to major in subjects useful to corporations and is part of the reason why the humanities are withering away.

From Salon

Rather, the poorer and more vulnerable you are, the more you are exploited, thrust into a hellish debt peonage from which there is no escape.

From Salon

They are exploited and thrown into debt peonage with no escape.

From Salon

Born in Peru, he was a shaman who worked on cotton plantations in conditions of debt peonage, a system by which Indigenous peoples were forced to work for a pittance, purchasing their necessities from their oppressors at extortionate prices, rendering them permanently indebted.

From Scientific American

Related Words

• bondage
• captivity
• enslavement
• serfdom
• servitude
• subjugation