servus

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• servas, seas

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): /ˈse̞ɐ̯vus/, /ˈse̞ɐ̯βus/
• Hyphenation: ser‧vus

Interjection

servus

1. (informal) hello, hi
2. (informal) bye, goodbye

Derived terms

• nå 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

   Synonym: ahoj

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

   Synonym: ahoj

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

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. (chiefly Southern Germany, Austria, informal) 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.
• This salutation is used in Southern Germany and throughout the former Austria-Hungary (see cognates on this page), in varying frequency throughout those areas.
• 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.

Synonyms

• moin
• hallo
• hi
• hey
• grüß Gott

Further reading

• “servus” in Duden online
• “servus” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Latin

Alternative forms

• servos (archaic)

Etymology

From Old Latin servos, from Proto-Italic *serwos (“guardian”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo-s (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Cognate with servō, Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (haraⁱti, “he heeds, protects”). By surface analysis, Proto-Indo-European *ser- +‎ -vus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈser.u̯us/, [ˈs̠ɛru̯ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈser.vus/, [ˈsɛrvus]
• Hyphenation: ser‧vus

Noun

servus m (genitive servī, feminine serva); 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?

Usage notes

• Until the Augustan period, servos was more common.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	servus	servī
Genitive	servī	servōrum
Dative	servō	servīs
Accusative	servum	servōs
Ablative	servō	servīs
Vocative	serve	servī

Derived terms

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

Descendants

• Asturian: siervu
• Catalan: serf
• Friulian: sierf
• Italian: servo
• Occitan: sèrve
• Old French: serf
  • Middle French: serf
    • French: serf
  • → English: serf
• Portuguese: servo
• Romanian: șerb, serv
• Sicilian: serbu
• Spanish: siervo

See also

• ancula (> ancilla)
• anculus
• sclavus
• familiāris

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: E. J. Brill, page 967/2

Adjective

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

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

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

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 with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], 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

Anagrams

• versus

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from German servus. Greeting found throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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

Synonyms

• bok (Croatia), 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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛrvus/

Interjection

servus

1. hello
2. hi
3. howdy

Further reading

• “servus”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2024