servus

Czech

Alterantive forms

• serbus (rare)

Etymology

The greeting evolved by the commoners greeting their lords with the words servus humillimus, Domine spectabilis, meaning your humble servant, my noble Lord. No subservience is implied in its modern use.

Interjection

servus

1. (colloquial) hi, hiya
2. (colloquial) cheerio, bye, so long, ta-ta

Further reading

• servus in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• servus in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

---

Esperanto

Verb

servus

1. conditional of servi

---

German

Etymology

The greeting evolved from the commoners’ greeting (said to lords) servus humillimus (Domine spectabilis), in Latin meaning "your most humble servant, my noble Lord". No subservience is implied in modern use.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛrvus/ ~ IPA^(key): /ˈzɛɐvus/

• Audio

  (file)

Interjection

servus

1. hello, hi
2. goodbye, bye
3. (as a toast) cheers

Further reading

• servus in Duden online

---

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo- (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“to bind, put together”). Cognate with Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (haraiti, “he heeds, protects”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈser.wus/, [ˈsɛr.wʊs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈser.vus/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Noun

servus m (genitive servī); second declension

1. a servant
2. a serf
3. a slave
   • Captivi ("the captives") by Plautus (English and Latin text)

     Quem patrem, qui servos est?

     Father! What do you mean, when he’s a slave?

Declension

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	servus	servī
genitive	servī	servōrum
dative	servō	servīs
accusative	servum	servōs
ablative	servō	servīs
vocative	serve	servī

Derived terms

• serviō
• servitūdō
• servitūs
• servulus
• servus Deī (Ecclesiastical)
• servus servōrum Deī (Ecclesiastical)

Related terms

• serva

See also

• sclavus

Descendants

• Asturian: siervu
• Catalan: serf
• English: serf
• French: serf
• Friulian: sierf
• Italian: servo

• Occitan: sèrve
• Portuguese: servo
• Romanian: șerb, serv
• Sicilian: servu
• Spanish: siervo

References

• servus² in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “servus²” in Félix Gaffiot’s Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette (1934)
• “seruus¹” on page 1,748/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
• Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976), “servus”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus (in Latin), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 967/2

Adjective

servus (feminine serva, neuter servum); first/second declension

1. slavish, servile
2. (of lands, buildings) subject or liable to servitude

Declension

First/second declension.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	servus	serva	servum		servī	servae	serva
genitive	servī	servae	servī		servōrum	servārum	servōrum
dative	servō		servō		servīs
accusative	servum	servam	servum		servōs	servās	serva
ablative	servō	servā	servō		servīs
vocative	serve	serva	servum		servī	servae	serva

References

• servus¹ in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “servus¹” in Félix Gaffiot’s Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette (1934)
• “seruus²” on page 1,748 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

References

• servus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• servus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• du Cange, Charles (1883), “servus”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to act the rôle of a slave, pander: agere servum, lenonem
    
  • a good, useful slave: frugi (opp. nequam) servus
    
  • a degraded, servile condition: infima fortuna or condicio servorum
    
  • (ambiguous) to examine slaves by torture: de servis quaerere (in dominum)
    
• servus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• servus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from German servus. Greeting found in many Central European languages.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈser.vus/

Interjection

servus (informal, Transylvania, Maramureș, Bukovina)

1. hi, hello
2. see you (later)

---

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• serbus

Etymology

From German servus, ultimately from Latin servus.

Interjection

sèrvus (Cyrillic spelling сѐрвус)

1. (Croatia) hello
2. (Croatia) good bye

Synonyms

• bok, ćao, zdravo

---

Slovak

Etymology

The greeting evolved by the commoners greeting their lords with the words servus humillimus, Domine spectabilis, meaning your humble servant, my noble Lord. No subservience is implied in its modern use.

Interjection

servus

1. hello
2. hi
3. howdy

Further reading

• servus in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk