servus

Czech

Alternative 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɛrvus]

Interjection

servus

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

Synonyms

• See ahoj

Further reading

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

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Esperanto

Verb

servus

1. conditional of servi

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German

Etymology

An ellipsis from the commoners’ greeting once said to feudal lords, "servus humillimus (Domine spectabilis)", in Latin meaning "(I am a) most humble servant, (O) noble Lord".

Pronunciation

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

• Audio

  (file)

Interjection

servus

1. (chiefly southern Germany, Austria, informal) hello, hi
2. (ibid.) goodbye, bye, farewell
3. (as a toast) cheers

Usage notes

• No subservience is implied in modern use, and the origin of the term is not commonly known. Educated usage may be sincere, jocular or ironic.
• Usage of the salutation in German, as well as nearby languages like Hungarian, Slovakian, and Romanian, roughly corresponds to the former borders of Austria-Hungary.
• Despite the formal origins of the term, its usage is now chiefly, but not exclusively informal; the degree of decorum is dependent on context of region, dialect, class, or even village.

Further reading

• servus in Duden online

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo- (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Cognate with servō, 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

Descendants

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

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

See also

• sclavus

References

• servus² in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• servus² in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette: “1,432/2”
• “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, 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 Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette: “1,432/2”
• “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
• servus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• 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

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed 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)

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Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• serbus

Etymology

From German servus, ultimately from Latin servus.

Interjection

sèrvus (Cyrillic spelling сѐрвус)

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

Synonyms

• bok, ćao, zdravo

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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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛrvus/

Interjection

servus

1. hello
2. hi
3. howdy

Further reading

• servus in Slovak dictionaries at korpus.sk