serf

English

Etymology

From Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”), perhaps of Etruscan origin

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /sɜːf/
• (US) IPA: /sɝf/
• Homophone: surf (in accents with the fern-fir-fur merger)

Noun

serf (plural serfs)

1. A partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, slavishly attached to the land owned by a feudal lord and required to perform labour, enjoying minimal legal or customary rights.
2. A similar agricultural labourer in 18th and 19th century Europe.
3. (strategy games) A worker unit.

Translations

semifree peasant

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 農奴 (cmn), 农奴 (cmn) (nóngnú)

• Czech: nevolník (cs) m
• Danish: livegen (da) c
• Dutch: horige, laat, lijfeigene, serf m and f
• Estonian: pärisori (et)
• Finnish: maaorja (fi)
• French: serf (fr) m
• German: Leibeigener m
• Greek: δουλοπάροικος (el) (dulopárikos) m
• Hungarian: jobbágy (hu)
• Irish:

  Old Irish: dóer m

• Italian: servo (it) m
• Japanese: 農奴 (ja) (のうど, nōdo), 小作人 (ja) (こさくにん, kosakunin)

• Korean: 농노 (ko) (nongno) (農奴 (ko))
• Macedonian: кмет (kmet) m, закрепостен селанец (zakréposten sélanec) m, крепосен селанец (kréposen sélanec) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: leilending (no) m, livegen (no)

  Nynorsk: leiglending (nn) m, liveigen (nn)

• Portuguese: servo (pt) m
• Romanian: iobag m, șerb m
• Russian: крепостной (ru) (krepostnój) m, крепостная (ru) (krepostnája) f, холоп (ru) (xolóp) m (also pejorative)
• Serbo-Croatian: kmet m, kmetica f
• Spanish: siervo (es) m
• Swedish: livegen (sv)
• Vietnamese: nông nô (vi) (農奴 (vi))
• Welsh: taeog (cy)

Synonyms

• (strategy games): peasant, peon, villager

Derived terms

• serfage
• serfdom
• serfhood
• serfish
• serfism

Related terms

• service
• servile
• servitor
• servitude
• servo

See also

• slave

Anagrams

• ESRF, f***ers, refs

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Dutch

Etymology

From French, from Latin servus 'slave, serf, servant', perhaps of Etruscan origin

Noun

serf m (plural serven, diminutive serfje)

1. A serf, semifree peasant obliged to remain on the lord's land and to perform extensive chores for him

Synonyms

• horige
• laat
• lijfeigene

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French

Etymology

Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”), perhaps of Etruscan origin.

Noun

serf m (plural serfs; feminine serve, plural serves)

1. A serf, semifree peasant obliged to remain on the lord's land and to perform extensive chores for him

Adjective

serf m (feminine serve, masculine plural serfs, feminine plural serves)

1. being or like a serf, semifree

Related terms

• service m
• servile
• servir v
• servitude

Anagrams

• fers

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Mauritian Creole

Etymology

French cerf.

Noun

serf

1. deer

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Middle French

Noun

serf m (plural serfs)

1. serf (semifree peasant)

Descendants

• French: serf

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Old French

Noun

serf m (oblique plural sers, nominative singular sers, nominative plural serf)

1. serf (semifree peasant)

Descendants

• English: serf (borrowed)
• French: serf