Dictionary

serf en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /seːf/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger
• /sɜːf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /sɝf/ (US)
• /sɛːf/ Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
• /sɛɹf/ (Scotland)
• /søːf/ (New-Zealand, Wales)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”).

Meanings

1. A partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, attached like a slave to the land owned by a feudal lord and required to perform labour, enjoying minimal legal or customary rights.
   • See how the serfs work the ground / And they give it all they’ve got 2012, ミラクルミュージカル, “The Mind Electric”, in Hawaii: Part II:
2. A similar agricultural labourer in 18th and 19th century Europe.
3. (qualifier:strategy games) A worker unit.

Forms

Deriveds

serfage · serfism · serfship · serfish · serfdom · microserf · serflike · enserf · serfhood · nonserf

Relateds

slave · servile · service · servitude · servo · servitor

Synonyms

villager · helot · peon · peasant

Translations (84)

ar قِنّ (semifree peasant) · el κολλίγας (semifree peasant) · sh kmètica (semifree peasant) · nl serf (semifree peasant) · cs nevolník (semifree peasant) · bg кре́постен се́лянин (semifree peasant) · bg кре́постник (semifree peasant) · fr serf (semifree peasant) · ko 농노 (semifree peasant) · nl laat (semifree peasant) · sk nevoľník (semifree peasant) · ca serf (semifree peasant) · tt кол (semifree peasant) · bo མངའ་ཞབས (semifree peasant) · uk кріпосна́ (semifree peasant) · ga daor (semifree peasant) · nn liveigen (semifree peasant) · izh krepostnoi (semifree peasant) · ru крепостна́я (semifree peasant) · ro șerb (semifree peasant) · my မြေကျွန် (semifree peasant) · ru крепостно́й (semifree peasant) · cy taeog (semifree peasant) · sh кме̏т (semifree peasant) · ga seirfeach (semifree peasant) · th ไพร่ (semifree peasant) · bo མི་སེར (semifree peasant) · sv livegen (semifree peasant) · grc θής (semifree peasant) · sq shërbëtor (semifree peasant) · mk кмет (semifree peasant) · bo མངའ་འབངས (semifree peasant) · it servo della gleba (semifree peasant) · pt servo (semifree peasant) · la colōnus (semifree peasant) · ga daoirseach (semifree peasant) · mk закре́постен се́ланец (semifree peasant) · oc sèrf (semifree peasant) · ja 農奴 (semifree peasant) · cmn 農奴 /农奴 (semifree peasant) · pl kmieć (semifree peasant) · pl chłop pańszczyźniany (semifree peasant) · de Leibeigener (semifree peasant) · fi maaorja (semifree peasant) · nb livegen (semifree peasant) · gl servo (semifree peasant) · mi poroteke (semifree peasant) · grc θῆσσα (semifree peasant) · mk кре́посен се́ланец (semifree peasant) · ru холо́п (semifree peasant) · myv модарява (semifree peasant) · ja 小作人 (semifree peasant) · he צמית (semifree peasant) · hu jobbágy (semifree peasant) · be прыго́нная (semifree peasant) · sh kmȅt (semifree peasant) · sh кмѐтица (semifree peasant) · bo འབངས་འཁོར (semifree peasant) · mi rōpā (semifree peasant) · uk кріпосни́й (semifree peasant) · sga dóer (semifree peasant) · nl horige (semifree peasant) · enm servaunt (semifree peasant) · bo དུད་ཆང (semifree peasant) · bg кре́постничка (semifree peasant) · th ข้าไพร่ (semifree peasant) · nn leiglending (semifree peasant) · nl lijfeigene (semifree peasant) · he אריס (semifree peasant) · ro iobag (semifree peasant) · be прыго́нны (semifree peasant) · nb leilending (semifree peasant) · hy ճորտ (semifree peasant) · sq rëmër (semifree peasant) · myv модаре (semifree peasant) · sl tlačan (semifree peasant) · da livegen (semifree peasant) · es siervo (semifree peasant) · bo བྲན་གཡོག (semifree peasant) · el δουλοπάροικος (semifree peasant) · et pärisori (semifree peasant) · vi nông nô (semifree peasant) · uk кріпа́к (semifree peasant) · bo བྲན (semifree peasant)