It seems that it had undergone a transitional meaning that is now lost, that of corvėe, or forced labor; see John Wilkinson, Modern Egypt, I, p. 431. Mehmed Ali, he says, is to be distinguished for being “the first to substitute forced labor (luman) for capital punishments.”

DEFINE: Clarifies that 'luman' had a transitional meaning of corvée/forced labor, and that Mehmed Ali was credited with substituting it for capital punishment.

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 841