to make into a slave or to reduce someone to slavery; to enslave.
From be- (prefix) + slave (from Old French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, originally from Slav peoples). The prefix creates the causative form—to cause someone to become a slave.
The word slave comes from Slav peoples because so many Slavic people were enslaved during medieval times—it's a tragic reminder that the word's origin is tied to historical suffering.
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