serf

American  

[surf] / sɜrf /

noun

1. a person in a condition of feudal servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another.

   Synonyms:

   peasant, villein, vassal

2. a worker who is underpaid, overworked, or otherwise exploited.

   Today's service-sector serfs are fighting for the most basic of job perks: a decent paycheck, a stable schedule, and paid time off when they are sick.

3. Obsolete. a person held in bondage or slavery.

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serf British  

/ sɜːf /

noun

1. (esp in medieval Europe) an unfree person, esp one bound to the land. If his lord sold the land, the serf was passed on to the new landlord

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serf Cultural  

1. Under feudalism, a peasant bound to his lord's land and subject to his lord's will, but entitled to his lord's protection.

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Other Word Forms

• serfdom noun
• serflike adjective

Etymology

Origin of serf

First recorded in 1475–85; from Old French, from Latin servus “slave”

Example Sentences

It has also accused the Dalai Lama of spearheading a failed uprising in 1959 in order to "preserve the theocratic serf system".

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2023

When I read her work, I imagine Monty Python’s oppressed serf calling out, “there’s some lovely filth down here,” gleefully harvesting a great big pile of squelching sludge.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2022

They were Old Believers, and relatively new money: Their great-grandfather was a serf who bought his freedom with his wife’s dowry of five rubles.

From New York Times • Sep. 30, 2021

Minimalist boots with one single strap stylishly seemed to merge serf with space-age.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2018

The serf of chivalry was not a slave for whom there was no hope.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White