serf
a person in a condition of feudal servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another.
a worker who is underpaid, overworked, or otherwise exploited: Today's service-sector serfs are fighting for the most basic of job perks: a decent paycheck, a stable schedule, and paid time off when they are sick.
Obsolete. a person held in bondage or slavery.
Origin of serf
1Other words for serf
Other words from serf
- serf·dom [surf-duhm] /ˈsɜrf dəm/ noun
Words that may be confused with serf
- serf , surf
Words Nearby serf
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use serf in a sentence
To that end, like the Don host, many of the poorer folks and serfs of the Ukrainian society strove to escape from the clutches of the organized states.
Cossacks: The Remarkable Military Settlers of Russia and Ukraine | Dattatreya Mandal | June 16, 2022 | Realm of HistoryThe word itself derives from the Czech word “robota,” or forced labor, as done by serfs.
The first ‘robots’ were made of flesh and bone | By John M. Jordan/MIT Press Reader | January 26, 2021 | Popular-Science"Fergan must have remained behind in the quarry where he cuts stone," remarked another serf.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueThe bailiff having finished his reading, beckoned to a serf named Peter the Lame.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueThe imprecations and the foot-falls of the serf alone interrupted the silence of the night.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne Sue
Accidentally the bailiff caught sight of the blind serf, mutilated of his four limbs.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueThe young serf had a somberer and wilder look, her tears had dried, but her eyes shot lightning.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne Sue
British Dictionary definitions for serf
/ (sɜːf) /
(esp in medieval Europe) an unfree person, esp one bound to the land. If his lord sold the land, the serf was passed on to the new landlord
Origin of serf
1Derived forms of serf
- serfdom or serfhood, noun
- serflike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for serf
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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