corvee

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun unpaid labor (as for the maintenance of roads) required by a lord of his vassals in lieu of taxes

From French corvée, from Late Latin conrogāta, derived from Latin conrogāre (“call together by entreaty”).

The mornings and afternoons he spent in forced labor, a victim of the corvee; his mid-day meal and "four o'clocks" were harmoniously eaten in the potting-shed. — The Gay Adventure: A Romance, Richard Bird
“Not content with refusing revenue,” he continued, “this outlander refuses also to beegar” (this is the corvee or forced labor on the roads), “and stirs my people up to the like treason. — The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume Edition, Rudyard Kipling
Such corvees, as they are called, make one of the principal instruments of tyranny by which those officers chastise any parish or communeaute, which has had the misfortune to fall under their displeasure. — An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

From: —

Output

Worksheet Type (multi-select)

Scope

Difficulty

Max questions

0 words Min 50 words / Max 2,000 words