Where does “servant” come from?
Servant comes from Old French servant, derived from French servir, which traces back to Latin servire and its agent noun servus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ser-.
servant (English): One who is hired to perform regular household or...
Definitions
- One who is hired to perform regular household or...
Ancestry of “servant”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | servaunt | A labourer or employee; one who works for another |
| 2 | Old French | servant | present participle of servir; that serves; that... |
| 3 | Old French | servir | to serve |
| 4 | Latin | serviō | to be a slave to; to serve |
| 5 | Latin | servus | a servant; a serf; a slave |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | serwos | guardian |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ser-wo-s | guardian |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |