utumwa
oo-TOO-mwah
How to say it
Swahiliutumwaoo-TOO-mwah
Englishslavery, bondage
Frenchesclavage, servitude
Meaning
The condition of being owned by another person and forced to work without pay or freedom; biashara ya utumwa is the slave trade.
Good to know
U class noun with no plural. A slave is mtumwa, plural watumwa. Figuratively, utumwa wa madeni is bondage to debt.
Examples
- Biashara ya utumwa ilikomeshwa Zanzibar mwaka 1873.The slave trade was abolished in Zanzibar in 1873.
- Wengi walikufa wakiwa utumwani.Many died while in slavery.
- Madeni yamemweka katika utumwa wa kudumu.Debts have kept him in lasting bondage.
The same word in
Not yet checked by a native speaker.