Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

timeserver

[tahym-sur-ver]
noun
  1. 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.
Show More

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for time-server

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • He was a time-server, a self-constituted agent, and a dangerous enemy when enraged.

British Dictionary definitions for time-server

timeserver

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

n.

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.).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper