corvée

cor·vée

 (kôr-vā′, kôr′vā′)

n.

1. Labor exacted by a local authority for little or no pay or instead of taxes and used especially in the maintenance of roads.

2. A day of unpaid work required of a vassal by a feudal lord.

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[French corvée and Middle English corve, both from Old French corovee, from Medieval Latin (opera) corrogāta, (work) requested, neuter pl. of Latin corrogātus, past participle of corrogāre, to summon together : com-, com- + rogāre, to ask; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]

corvée

(ˈkɔːveɪ)

n

1. (Historical Terms) European history a day's unpaid labour owed by a feudal vassal to his lord

2. (Historical Terms) the practice or an instance of forced labour

[C14: from Old French, from Late Latin corrogāta contribution, from Latin corrogāre to collect, from rogāre to ask]

cor•vée

(kɔrˈveɪ)

n.

1. unpaid labor for one day, as on the repair of roads, exacted by a feudal lord.

2. an obligation imposed on inhabitants of a district to perform services, as repair of roads, for little or no pay.

[1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin corrogāta contribution, collection, n. use of feminine of Latin corrogātus, past participle of corrogāre to collect by asking]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

corvee - unpaid labor (as for the maintenance of roads) required by a lord of his vassals in lieu of taxes toil, labor, labour - productive work (especially physical work done for wages); "his labor did not require a great deal of skill"

Translations

αγγαρεία