| 词源 |
indenture. Indenture strictly means “a document with serrat- ed edges,” deriving from the Latin dens, “tooth,” and referring to the once common practice of cutting a document into halves with serrated edges—one half to each party of agreement—so that the document could be authenticated by fitting the edges together. The word’s legal meaning today is “a contract in which two parties bind themselves to an exchange of services and ob- servances.” Indentured servitude, sometimes called “white slav- ery” and banned under the U.S. Constitution, bound a person to service to another for a period of time, usually seven years, and could amount to virtual slavery. A number of noted early Americans were once indentured servants. |