from deo, "to bind," "a slave," originally the lowest term in the scale of servitude, came also to mean "one who gives himself up to the will of another," e.g., 1 Corinthians 7:23; Romans 6:17,20 , and became the most common and general word for "servant," as in Matthew 8:9 , without any idea of bondage. In calling himself, however, a "bondslave of Jesus Christ," e.g., Romans 1:1 , the Apostle Paul intimates (1) that he had been formerly a "bondslave" of Satan, and (2) that, having been bought by Christ, he was now a willing slave, bound to his new Master. See SERVANT.
The feminine, doule, signifies "a handmaid," Luke 1:38,48; Acts 2:18 ."a young girl, maiden," also denoted "a young female slave, bondwoman, or handmaid." For the AV, "bondmaid" or "bondwoman," in Galatians 4:22,23,30,31 , the RV has "handmaid." See DAMSEL , HANDMAID, MAID.