The word bondage, which is derived from the Middle English word for a serf, is today used in several different senses:
- The word bondage in its literal sense refers to a state of slavery or captivity, as in the "bondage of the Israelites" or in the title of My Bondage and My Freedom.
- Sexual bondage is the practice of tying people up for their (or others') sexual pleasure.
- The practice of debt bondage refers to a latter day variant of slavery in which people are bound by debt, rather than legal ownership.
- The term bondage is also used figuratively in religion, to mean spiritual attachment , such as to the physical world, or an evil compelling force, such as Original Sin.