thrall

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /θrɔl/ UK /θrɔːl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being in another's power; a slave or captive

The villagers were held in thrall by a cruel warlord.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being in... slavery bondage servitude slave captive serf

Opposites

freedom liberty emancipation

Word family

Derived forms thralldomenthrall

Related forms enthrallthralldom

Etymology

From Old English thrael ('slave, serf'), borrowed from Old Norse thraell, from Proto-Germanic *thrahilaz, perhaps related to a root meaning 'to run' (one who runs to serve).

thrael Old English thraell Old Norse *thrahilaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# thrall

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /θrɔl/
**IPA (UK):** /θrɔːl/

## Meanings
1. the state of being in another's power; a slave or captive

## Examples
- The villagers were held in thrall by a cruel warlord.

## Synonyms
- slavery
- bondage
- servitude
- slave
- captive
- serf

## Antonyms
- freedom
- liberty
- emancipation

## Derived Forms
- thralldom
- enthrall

## Related Forms
- enthrall
- thralldom

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: thrael
- Root: thraell
- Root: *thrahilaz

## Etymology
From Old English thrael ('slave, serf'), borrowed from Old Norse thraell, from Proto-Germanic *thrahilaz, perhaps related to a root meaning 'to run' (one who runs to serve).

## AI Etymology
Thrall comes from Old English thrael ('slave, serf'), borrowed from Old Norse thraell, from Proto-Germanic *thrahilaz, perhaps related to a root meaning 'to run' (one who runs to serve). The historical chain includes Old English thrael, Old Norse thraell, and Proto-Germanic *thrahilaz. The quoted older senses, "slave, serf" and "to run", supply the semantic anchors for thrall. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word thrall carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "the state of being in another's power; a slave or captive". English derivatives include thralldom and enthrall; related English forms include enthrall and thralldom. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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