servile

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin servīlis, from servus (“slave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɜː(ɹ).ˌvaɪl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈsəɹ.vəl/, /ˈsəɹ.ˌvaɪl/

Adjective

servile (comparative more servile, superlative most servile)

1. of or pertaining to a slave.
   • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Even fortune rules no more, O servile land!

2. submissive or slavish.

   servile flattery; servile obedience

3. (grammar) Not belonging to the original root.

   a servile letter

4. (grammar) Not sounded, but serving to lengthen the preceding vowel, like the e in tune.

Antonyms

• (submissive or slavish): authoritarian, arrogant

Derived terms

• servility

Related terms

• serve
• servant
• slave

Translations

of or pertaining to a slave

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: orja- (fi)
• French: servile (fr)
• German: sklavisch
• Japanese: 奴隷の (ja) (dorei no)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: servil (pt)
• Romanian: servil (ro) m or n, slugarnic (ro)
• Russian: ра́бский (ru) (rábskij)
• Spanish: servil (es)
• Swedish: slav-

submissive or slavish

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 低三下四 (zh) (dīsānxiàsì)

• Finnish: orjallinen (fi), alamainen (fi), orjamainen (fi)
• German: unterwürfig
• Greek: δουλικός (el) (doulikós)
• Irish: moghach, uiríseal
• Italian: adulatore (it) m, servile (it), leccapiedi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 卑屈な (ja) (hikutsu na)
• Latin: vernīlis, obnoxius
• Portuguese: servil (pt)
• Russian: раболе́пный (ru) (rabolépnyj), подобостра́стный (ru) (podobostrástnyj), холо́пский (ru) (xolópskij)
• Spanish: servil (es)
• Swedish: servil (sv), underdånig (sv), fjäskig (sv), devot (sv)

Noun

servile (plural serviles)

1. (grammar) An element which forms no part of the original root.
2. A slave; a menial.

Antonyms

• radical

Anagrams

• leviers, relives, reviles, veilers

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin servīlis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛʁ.vil/

Adjective

servile (plural serviles)

1. servile, slavish, subservient

Related terms

• serf
• servilement
• servilité
• servir

Further reading

• “servile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• leviers, lièvres, livrées

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin servīlis.

Adjective

servile

1. servile

Related terms

• servire
• servitù
• servo

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /serˈu̯iː.le/, [s̠ɛrˈu̯iːɫ̪ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /serˈvi.le/, [serˈviːle]

Etymology 1

Neuter adverbial accusative use of servīlis (“servile, slavish”).

Adverb

servīle (comparative servīlius, superlative servīlissimē)

1. (rare) like a slave, slavishly, servilely

Synonyms

• servīliter

Etymology 2

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) servīle

1. nominative neuter singular of servīlis
2. accusative neuter singular of servīlis
3. vocative neuter singular of servīlis