serfdom
Use Serfdom in a sentence
noun
1.
a person in a condition of servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another.
2.
a slave.
Origin:
1475–85; < Middle French < Latin servus slave
1475–85; < Middle French < Latin servus slave
Related forms
serf·dom, serf·hood, serf·age, noun
Synonyms
1. vassal, villein, peasant.
1. vassal, villein, peasant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To serfdom
Collins
World English Dictionary
serf (sɜːf) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| (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 | |
| [C15: from Old French, from Latin servus a slave; see | |
| 'serfdom | |
| —n | |
| 'serfhood | |
| —n | |
| 'serflike | |
| —adj | |
00:10
Serfdom
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| serf (sɜːf) | |
| —n | |
| (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 | |
| [C15: from Old French, from Latin servus a slave; see | |
| 'serfdom | |
| —n | |
| 'serfhood | |
| —n | |
| 'serflike | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
serf
late 15c., "slave," from M.Fr. serf, from L. servum (nom. servus) "slave" (see serve). Fallen from use in original sense by 18c. Meaning "lowest class of cultivators of the soil in continental European countries" is from 1610s. Use by modern writers with reference to medieval
Europeans first recorded 1761 (contemporary Anglo-L. records used nativus, villanus or servus). Serfdom first attested 1850.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Money and markets and property rights freed humanity from millennia of serfdom.
They advance against that standard, rather than the pestilence, beggary and injustice of serfdom.
Already it is casting off the domination of party and the serfdom of tradition, and has set its face steadfastly toward the light.
All of us resented that, and certainly serfdom of that day resented it.
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