What is a good word between 'slave' and 'servant'?
A serf has a status in between that of a slave and that of a servant.
- A serf cannot be sold but he is bound
to a plot of land owned by his
lord. Serfdom was a common condition
in feudal Europe during the Middle ages until the plague
epidemics and abolished in Russia by
the liberal tsar Alexander II in the
19th century.
A serf is not paid, instead he is required to work on his master's land and this takes precedence over his own plot. - A servant, in contrast, has wages and can theoretically choose his master.
- A slave—there are many variations depending on the place and times—is bought and owned for life. His emancipation depends entirely on his master's goodwill.
Sorry, but there really isn't a good general purpose word for this in English. There are some different words you can use for specific situations such as 'indentured servant', or 'serf', but it's a hard void to fill.
One solution used in some bible translations from older English usage is 'bondservant'.