enserf

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English

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Etymology

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From en- +‎ serf.

Verb

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enserf (third-person singular simple present enserfs, present participle enserfing, simple past and past participle enserfed)

  1. To make into a serf.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 369:
      It certainly did not denounce as sinful the movement to enserf a large section of the population, any more than it had challenged slavery in the ancient world; that was hardly surprising, since very often great monasteries like Cluny were in the forefront of imposing serfdom on their tenants.