servant

[ sur-vuhnt ]

noun

1. a person employed by another, especially to perform domestic duties.
2. a person in the service of another.
3. a person employed by the government:

   a public servant.

servant

/ ˈsɜːvənt /

noun

1. a person employed to work for another, esp one who performs household duties
2. See public servant

Derived Forms

• ˈservant-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• servant·less adjective
• servant·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of servant¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, noun use of present participle of servir to serve; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of servant¹

C13: via Old French, from servant serving, from servir to serve

Example Sentences

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK's most senior civil servant, told ministers last month they should "exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate".

From BBC

Swinney described Matheson - who resigned from the cabinet after he admitted misleading parliament about how an £11,000 data roaming bill was racked up on his work iPad - as a "faithful servant" to his constituents.

From BBC

And, we understand, the cabinet secretary, the most senior civil servant in the country, had spoken to her to confirm this.

From BBC

With the notable exception of David Thaxton’s Max, Norma’s watchdog servant and curator of her glory days, the ensemble that populates this Hollywood world is young, diverse and costumed to reflect today’s incoming generation of entertainment industry dreamers.

From Los Angeles Times

Born to a poor civil servant’s family in 1949, just a year before the Korean War broke out, Im grew up with five siblings in an industrial neighborhood of Seoul.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assistant
• attendant
• helper