thraldom

thraldom (countable and uncountable, plural thraldoms)

1. Alternative spelling of thralldom
   • 1864, “A Fast-Day at Foxden”, in Atlantic Monthly Journal‎, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2006:

     The wretched thraldom was over,—and what had it left?

• tharldome, tharldon, tharledom, thraldam, thraldome, thralldam, thralledom, thyrldome, þraldam, þraldame, þraldom, þraldome, þraldum, þralldom, þreldom
• (early) ðraldom

From thral +‎ -dom, possibly as a calque of Old Norse þrældómr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈθralˌdoːm/
• (reduced) IPA^(key): /ˈθraldam/, /ˈθraldum/

thraldom (uncountable)

1. Slavery, domination; the subjection of a person or group into bondage.
   • c. 1375, “Book I”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2)‎, Ouchtirmunſye: Iohannes Ramſay, published 1489, folio 2, recto, lines 233-236; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:

     Na he [þat] haß ay levyt fꝛe / May nocht knaw weill þe pꝛopyꝛte / Þe angyr na þe wꝛetchyt dome / [Þat] is couplyt to foule thyrldome

     No, one who's always lived free / won't really understand the feeling, / the suffering, or the painful fate / that's linked to foul slavery.

2. Obedience, submissiveness; the following of another's orders.
3. (religion) Spiritual subjection or control.

• English: thraldom, thralldom
• Scots: thirldom

• “thraldọ̄̆m, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.