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servitude - 5 dictionary results

ser⋅vi⋅tude

  [sur-vi-tood, -tyood]
Use servitude in a Sentence
–noun
1. slavery or bondage of any kind: political or intellectual servitude.
2. compulsory service or labor as a punishment for criminals: penal servitude.
3. Law. a right possessed by one person to use another's property.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME < LL servitūdō, equiv. to servi-, comb. form of servus slave + -tūdō, -tude

Synonyms:
1. serfdom, thralldom. See slavery.

Antonyms:
1. liberty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ser·vi·tude   (sûr'vĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd')   
n.  
    1. A state of subjection to an owner or master.
    2. Lack of personal freedom, as to act as one chooses.
  2. Forced labor imposed as a punishment for crime: penal servitude in labor camps.
  3. Law A right that grants use of another's property.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin servitūdō, from Latin servus, slave.]
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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Servitude

Serv"i*tude\, n. [L. servitudo: cf. F. servitude.]

1. The state of voluntary or compulsory subjection to a master; the condition of being bound to service; the condition of a slave; slavery; bondage; hence, a state of slavish dependence.

You would have sold your king to slaughter, His princes and his peers to servitude. --Shak.

A splendid servitude; . . . for he that rises up early, and goe? to bed late, only to receive addresses, is really as much abridged in his freedom as he that waits to present one. --South.

2. Servants, collectively. [Obs.]

After him a cumbrous train Of herds and flocks, and numerous servitude. --Milton.

3. (Law) A right whereby one thing is subject to another thing or person for use or convenience, contrary to the common right.

Note: The object of a servitude is either to suffer something to be done by another, or to omit to do something, with respect to a thing. The easements of the English correspond in some respects with the servitudes of the Roman law. Both terms are used by common law writers, and often indiscriminately. The former, however, rather indicates the right enjoyed, and the latter the burden imposed. --Ayliffe. Erskine. E. Washburn.

Penal servitude. See under Penal.

Personal servitude (Law), that which arises when the use of a thing is granted as a real right to a particular individual other than the proprietor.

Predial servitude (Law), that which one estate owes to another estate. When it related to lands, vineyards, gardens, or the like, it is called rural; when it related to houses and buildings, it is called urban.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : servitude
Spanish: servidumbre,
German: die Sklaverei,
Japanese: 奴れい状態
More Translations »

servitude 
1471, "condition of being enslaved," from M.Fr. servitude, from L.L. servitudo "slavery," from L. servus "a slave" (see serve).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ser·vi·tude
Pronunciation: 's&r-v&-"tüd, -"tyüd
Function: noun
1 : a condition in which an individual lacks liberty esp. to determine his or her course of action or way of life; specifically : the state of being a slave servitude> —see also Amendment XIII and Amendment XV to the CONSTITUTION in the back matter
2 : a right by which property owned by one person is subject to a specified use or enjoyment of another —used chiefly in the civil law of Louisiana —see also dominant estate and servient estate at ESTATE 4 —compare EASEMENT
apparent servitude
: a predial servitude whose existence is perceivable by exterior signs or works (as an aqueduct or road) on the property
legal servitude
: a predial servitude that is created by a limitation under the law on the use of the property
natural servitude
: a predial servitude that arises from the situation of the estates (as from one being situated downhill from another)
personal servitude
: a servitude that burdens property in favor of a specific named person —see also RIGHT OF USE, USUFRUCT
predial servitude
: a servitude that burdens one item of immovable property (as a tract of land) in favor of another
NOTE: A predial servitude is transferred along with the ownership of the dominant estate, and the servient estate is always taken subject to the servitude. A predial servitude cannot be transferred separately from the dominant estate.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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