servir

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

1. to serve

Related terms

• siervu

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Catalan

Etymology

From , from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [sərˈbi]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [sərˈvi]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [seɾˈviɾ]
• Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
• Homophone: serví

Verb

servir (first-person singular present serveixo, first-person singular preterite serví, past participle servit)

1. to serve
2. to be useful, to be good for
   • 2019 September 18, Lluís Foix, “Negativisme desacomplexat”, in La Vanguardia‎^[1]:

     La veracitat que s’atorga a les enquestes d’opinió pot persuadir molta gent que la política i els polítics ja no serveixen per canviar les coses.

     The veracity granted to opinion polls can persuade many people that politics and politicians are no good anymore for changing things.

Derived terms

• fer servir

Related terms

• serf
• servent
• servidor
• serviment

 

Further reading

• “servir” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “servir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “servir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “servir” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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French

Etymology

From Middle French servir, from Old French servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛʁ.viʁ/

• audio

  (file)

Verb

servir

1. to serve (to bring a meal to someone)
2. to be used for
3. (transitive with à) to be useful for someone, to be of use, come in handy
4. (sports) to serve (start a point with service)
5. (sports) to set up (pass to, in order to give a scoring chance)
6. (reflexive) to help oneself, to serve oneself
7. (reflexive, transitive with de) to use, make use of

Conjugation

This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) sers and (il) sert in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *servis and *servit (as in the past historic).

Conjugation of servir (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	servir
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	servant /sɛʁ.vɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		servi /sɛʁ.vi/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	sers /sɛʁ/	sers /sɛʁ/	sert /sɛʁ/	servons /sɛʁ.vɔ̃/	servez /sɛʁ.ve/	servent /sɛʁv/
	imperfect	servais /sɛʁ.vɛ/	servais /sɛʁ.vɛ/	servait /sɛʁ.vɛ/	servions /sɛʁ.vjɔ̃/	serviez /sɛʁ.vje/	servaient /sɛʁ.vɛ/
	past historic2	servis /sɛʁ.vi/	servis /sɛʁ.vi/	servit /sɛʁ.vi/	servîmes /sɛʁ.vim/	servîtes /sɛʁ.vit/	servirent /sɛʁ.viʁ/
	future	servirai /sɛʁ.vi.ʁe/	serviras /sɛʁ.vi.ʁa/	servira /sɛʁ.vi.ʁa/	servirons /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɔ̃/	servirez /sɛʁ.vi.ʁe/	serviront /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	servirais /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/	servirais /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/	servirait /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/	servirions /sɛʁ.vi.ʁjɔ̃/	serviriez /sɛʁ.vi.ʁje/	serviraient /sɛʁ.vi.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	serve /sɛʁv/	serves /sɛʁv/	serve /sɛʁv/	servions /sɛʁ.vjɔ̃/	serviez /sɛʁ.vje/	servent /sɛʁv/
	imperfect2	servisse /sɛʁ.vis/	servisses /sɛʁ.vis/	servît /sɛʁ.vi/	servissions /sɛʁ.vi.sjɔ̃/	servissiez /sɛʁ.vi.sje/	servissent /sɛʁ.vis/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	sers /sɛʁ/	—	servons /sɛʁ.vɔ̃/	servez /sɛʁ.ve/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Related terms

• serf
• sergent
• servage
• servant
• serveur
• service
• servile
• serviteur
• servitude

 

Further reading

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

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Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /serˈvir/

Verb

servir

1. to serve

Conjugation

    Conjugation of servir

infinitive		servir
participle		present	perfect
		serviente	servite
active		simple	perfect
	present	servi	ha servite
	past	serviva	habeva servite
	future	servira	habera servite
	conditional	servirea	haberea servite
	imperative	servi
passive		simple	perfect
	present	es servite	ha essite servite
	past	esseva servite	habeva essite servite
	future	essera servite	habera essite servite
	conditional	esserea servite	haberea essite servite
	imperative	sia servite

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Italian

Verb

servir

1. Apocopic form of servire

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Descendants

• → English: serve
• French: servir

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Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səɾˈβi/

Verb

servir

1. to serve
2. to be useful

Conjugation

    Conjugation of servir in Lengadocian (Central Occitan)

		simple			compound
infinitive		servir			aver servit
past participle		servit			—
gerund		servissent			avent servit
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		ieu	tu	el	nosautres	vosautres	eles
	present	servissi	servisses	servís	servissèm	servissètz	servisson
	imperfect	servissiái	servissiás	servissiá	servissiam	servissiatz	servissián
	preterite	serviguèri	serviguères	serviguèt	serviguèrem	serviguèretz	serviguèron
	future	servirai	serviràs	servirà	servirem	serviretz	serviràn
	conditional	serviriái	serviriás	serviriá	serviriam	serviriatz	servirián
	conditional 2nd form1	serviguèra	serviguèras	serviguèra	servigueram	servigueratz	serviguèran
compound tenses	present perfect	use the present tense of aver plus the past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle
	past anterior	use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle
	future perfect	use the future tense of aver plus the past participle
	conditional perfect	use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle
subjunctive		que ieu	que tu	que el	que nosautres	que vosautres	que eles
	present	servisca	serviscas	servisca	serviscam	serviscatz	serviscan
	imperfect	serviguèsse	serviguèsses	serviguèsse	serviguèssem	serviguèssetz	serviguèsson
compound tenses	past	use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle
	pluperfect	use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle
imperative		—	tu	—	nosautres	vosautres	—
			servís		serviscam	servissetz	1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Related terms

• servidor

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of servir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		servir			avoir servi
gerund		en servant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		servant
past participle		servi
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	serf	sers	sert	servons	servez	servent
	imperfect	servoie, serveie	servoies, serveies	servoit, serveit	serviiens, serviens	serviiez, serviez	servoient, serveient
	preterite	servi	servis	servi	servimes	servistes	servirent
	future	servirai	serviras	servira	servirons	serviroiz, servireiz, servirez	serviront
	conditional	serviroie, servireie	serviroies, servireies	serviroit, servireit	serviriiens, serviriens	serviriiez, serviriez	serviroient, servireient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	serve	serves	serve	servons	servez	servent
	imperfect	servisse	servisses	servist	servissons, servissiens	servissoiz, servissez, servissiez	servissent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	serf	—	servons	servez	—

Related terms

• aservir
• deservir
• desservir
• messervir
• serf
• serjant
• servise

 

Descendants

• Middle French: servir
  • → English: serve
  • French: servir
• Walloon: siervi

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Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Verb

servir

1. to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

Descendants

• Occitan: servir
• Catalan: servir

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese servir, from Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɨɾˈviɾ/
• IPA^(key): /seʁ.ˈvi(ʁ)/

Verb

1. (transitive) to serve (to work as a servant for someone)
2. (religion, transitive) to serve (to worship a god)
3. (transitive) to serve (to give out or place down food or drink)
4. (intransitive, or transitive with em) to serve (to be part of an armed force)

   Servi dois anos na Legião Estrangeira. ― I served for two years in the Foreign Legion.

5. (intransitive) to suffice; to do (to be good enough for a task)

   Esse martelo é ruim mas serve. ― This hammer is bad but it will do.

6. (subordinating, transitive with para) to be for (to have as its purpose or utility)

   Martelos servem para as pessoas baterem pregos. ― Hammers are for people to hit nails with.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:servir.

Related terms

• servente
• serviço
• servo

 

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seɾˈbiɾ/ [seɾˈβ̞iɾ]

Verb

1. (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to be a servant or worker; to render service)

   Es una empresa que sirve a los discapacitados.

   It's a business that serves the disabled.

2. (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to be a servant for; to work for)
3. (intransitive) to be of use, to be good for

   Hace diez años, la traducción automática no servía.

   Ten years ago, automated translation was no good.

   Este cuchillo sirve para cortar el pan.

   This knife is good for cutting bread.

4. (intransitive) to serve (to usefully take the place of something else)

   sirve como recordatorio ― serves as a reminder

5. (intransitive) to serve (to be in military service)
6. (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten)

   El camarero nos sirvió la comida de otra mesa.

   The waiter served us another table's food.

7. (intransitive, sports) to serve (to lead off with the first delivery over the net in tennis, volleyball, ping pong, badminton, etc.)

   Synonym: sacar

8. (reflexive, with de) to help oneself to (to take something freely)

Derived terms

• lo comido por lo servido

 

Related terms

• sargento
• servible
• servicentro
• servicio
• servidor
• servidumbre
• servil
• siervo
• sirviente

 

Further reading

• “servir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Venetian

Etymology

From Latin servīre, present active infinitive of serviō. Compare Italian servire.

Verb

servir

1. (transitive, intransitive) to serve

Conjugation

• Venetian conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

Conjugation of servir (third conjugation)

infinitive	servir
auxiliary verb		aver	gerund		servéndo
past participle		servito, servìo
person	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	mi	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
present	serviso	(te) servisi	(el/ła) servise	servimo	servì	(i/łe) servise
imperfect	servìa	(te) servivi	(el/ła) servìa	servìvimo	servivi	(i/łe) servìa
future	servirò	(te) servirè	(el/ła) servirà	servirémo	servirè	(i/łe) servirà
conditional	mi	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
present	servirìa	(te) servirisi	(el/ła) servirìa	servirìsimo	servirisi	(i/łe) servirìa
subjunctive	che mi	che ti	che eło / eła	che noialtri / noialtre	che voialtri / voialtre	che łuri / łore
present	servisa	(te) servisi	(el/ła) servisa	servimo	servì	(i/łe) servisa
imperfect	servise	(te) servisi	(el/ła) servise	servisimo	servisi	(i/łe) servise
imperative	—	ti	eło / eła	noialtri / noialtre	voialtri / voialtre	łuri / łore
	—	(te) servisi	(el/ła) servisa	servimo	servì	(i/łe) servisa