bondsman
bondsman Lexical Profile
bondsman Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person who provides bail or acts as a surety by pledging money or property to guarantee that another person will fulfill a legal or financial obligation, especially appearing in court.
"The defendant's family contacted a local bondsman to secure his release prior to the trial."
A person bound to service without wages, such as a serf, villain, or slave (historical or archaic).
"Under the feudal estate's strict laws, a bondsman could not leave the land without the lord's permission."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern legal and financial contexts, 'bondsman' (with an 's') typically refers to a surety or bail bondsman, whereas 'bondman' (without an 's') is the traditional historical term for a serf or slave, though the two forms have historically overlapped.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Early Modern English as a compound of 'bond' (in the legal sense of a binding monetary obligation) and 'man'; the older sense of a serf or slave is an alteration of Middle English 'bondman', from 'bond' (peasant or serf, from Old Norse 'bóndi').