Definition

Noun: - Corvée: A form of unpaid, forced labor that peasants or serfs were required to perform for a feudal lord or the state, typically for a set number of days per year. This term is specific to historical contexts, particularly in feudal societies.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nông dân thời phong kiến phải làm cỏ vê cho địa chủ. (Peasants in feudal times had to perform corvée for the landlord.)
  • Chế độ cỏ vê đã bị bãi bỏ từ lâu. (The corvée system was abolished long ago.)

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Legal Context: The term is almost exclusively used in historical, academic, or legal discussions about pre-modern labor systems. It is not used in contemporary contexts for modern labor.
  • Các sử gia nghiên cứu về cỏ vê trong xã hội phong kiến Việt Nam. (Historians study corvée in Vietnamese feudal society.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sưu dịch (noun): A near-synonym often used interchangeably with "cỏ vê" to refer to conscripted labor or corvée, especially in Vietnamese historical contexts.
• Lao dịch (noun): Compulsory labor, corvée. This is another term with a very similar meaning.

Synonyms

• Lao động cưỡng bức: Forced labor (a broader, more modern term).
• Nghĩa vụ lao động: Labor obligation.

Notes on Meaning

• Specific Historical Term: "Cỏ vê" is a direct loanword from the French "corvée." Its usage is highly specific and archaic. In modern Vietnamese, the concept is more commonly described by the synonyms listed above when discussing historical contexts. The word itself is rarely used in everyday conversation.

noun

1. Corvee