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serfs - 2 dictionary results

serf

  [surf]
Use serfs 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; < MF < L servus slave

Related forms:
serfdom, serfhood, serfage, noun

Synonyms:
1. vassal, villein, peasant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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serf   (sûrf)   
n.  
  1. A member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land owned by a lord and required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights.
  2. An agricultural laborer under various similar systems, especially in 18th- and 19th-century Russia and eastern Europe.
  3. A person in bondage or servitude.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin servus, slave.]
serf'dom n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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