Usage of "thrall"

[Arindam]

Hi, could someone clarify the usage of the word 'thrall' through a sentence? Thanks!

[Touhou]

It is a word we acquired from Old Norse. It means "slave". One of the Norse legends starts out with "And he murdered Sigurd's hardest-working thrall." or something like that. In addition, the verb "to enthrall" means "to deeply entertain."

"I was enthralled by Elvis Presley's performance of 'Hound Dog'."

[Arindam]

Thanks, would you be able to use the word in its noun form in a more modern way?

[Touhou]

You could say, "I've been working like a thrall in the kitchen!" But we don't use it that much anymore. "Thrall" is another "archaic" (ar-KAY-ik) word, which means it is no longer used very often. Other archaic words include "verily" (which means "truly"), "wouldst" (would), pantaloons (pants), "nigh" (nearly), etc.
"Thrall" really only survives today in the verb "to enthrall". You would do a lot better to use "slave".

However, "to enslave" is a lot different from "to enthrall". "To enslave" means you are forcing someone to work as your slave. So you would not be "enslaved by Elvis' performance of "Rockin' Robin".

Does that help any?

[Arindam]

Thanks a heap! That really helps. Actually I found 'thrall' being used in its noun form in a recent issue of The Economist.