serf
[ surf ]
/ sɜrf /
noun
a person in a condition of servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another.
a slave.
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Question 1 of 7
What does "scattergood" mean?
a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.
a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.
a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUTOrigin of serf
1475–85; < Middle French < Latin servus slave
OTHER WORDS FROM serf
serf·dom, serf·hood, serf·age, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH serf
serf surfWords nearby serf
serene, serengeti, serenity, sereth, serevent, serf, serge, sergeant, sergeant at arms, sergeant at law, sergeant baker
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for serf
British Dictionary definitions for serf
serf
/ (sɜːf) /
noun
(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
Derived forms of serf
serfdom or serfhood, nounserflike, adjectiveWord Origin for serf
C15: from Old French, from Latin servus a slave; see serve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for serf
serf
Under feudalism, a peasant bound to his lord's land and subject to his lord's will, but entitled to his lord's protection.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.