serf
[ surf ]
/ sɜrf /
Save This Word!
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.
Obsolete. a person held in bondage or slavery.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of serf
First recorded in 1475–85; from Old French, from Latin servus “slave”
OTHER WORDS FROM serf
serf·dom [surf-duhm] /ˈsɜrf dəm/ nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH serf
serf , surfWords nearby serf
serene, Serengeti, serenity, Sereth, Serevent, serf, serfdom, serge, sergeant, sergeant at arms, sergeant at law
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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.