Adscriptive

/ægˈskrɪptɪv/ adjective

Definition

Of, relating to, or having the character of adscription; tending to bind or attach.

Etymology

From 'adscript' or 'adscription' + '-ive' suffix. This adjective form clarifies the binding and obligatory nature of adscription.

Kelly Says

Words with '-ive' often describe a tendency or characteristic—so 'adscriptive' basically means 'having the quality of locking you in place,' which perfectly captures the feudal system's unfree labor system.

Ethical Language Guidance

Gender History

Adjective form of adscript; shares the problem of gendering invisibility in feudal systems where women's servitude was legally unmarked but socially and reproductively enforced.

Inclusive Usage

Use adscriptive with deliberate attention to gender; do not allow the term to flatten the distinctions between male and female bound labor and control.

Inclusive Alternatives

["relating to bound status (gendered analysis required)","serf-bound"]

Empowerment Note

Feminist historiography has shown that adscriptive regimes depended on control of women's sexuality and reproduction, a fact often erased from standard feudalism texts.

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