timeserver

[tahym-sur-ver]

noun

a person who shapes his or her conduct to conform to the opinions of the time or of persons in power, especially for selfish ends.

Origin of timeserver

First recorded in 1565–75; time + server

Related formstime·serv·ing, adjective, nountime·serv·ing·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for time-server

Historical Examples of time-server

From Maurice Gorman, coward and time-server, there was nothing to be hoped.
Kilgorman
Talbot Baines Reed
It indicates that he was a time-server, lacking moral independence and firmness.
History of Education
Levi Seeley
I love wealth, like all my people, but I am not altogether a time-server, or a money-seeker.
Pearl-Maiden
H. Rider Haggard
They are those neither of a time-server, a faint heart, or a fool.
Mohun, or, The Last Days of Lee and his Paladins
John Esten Cooke
He was a time-server, a self-constituted agent, and a dangerous enemy when enraged.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes
Sylvia Sunshine

British Dictionary definitions for time-server

timeserver

noun

a person who compromises and changes his or her opinions, way of life, etc, to suit the current fashions

Derived Formstimeserving, adjective, noun

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

Word Origin and History for time-server

1580s, from expression serve the time "shape one's views to what is in favor" (1550s), translating Latin tempori servire. See time (n.) + serve (v.).