noun
- plural of peonage; systems of forced labor in which debtors are bound in servitude to their creditors
Usage: historical
Examples
- The historian studied various peonages that existed in the American South after the Civil War.
- These peonages trapped workers in cycles of debt and labor.
- Legal reforms were enacted to abolish such peonages in the early 20th century.
- The documentary examined how peonages affected immigrant communities.
- Scholars compared different peonages across various regions and time periods.