Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “subserviency” come from?

Subserviency derives from English subservient, from Latin subserviens meaning "serving under," composed of Latin subservire combining upo "under" and ser- "to serve," with the noun suffix -cia, -ia, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ία and Proto-Indo-European -h₂.

subserviency (English): The state of being subservient; subservience

Definitions

  1. The state of being subservient; subservience

Ancestry of “subserviency”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsubservientUseful in an inferior capacity; Obsequiously...
2Latinsubserviens
3LatinsubservioI serve; am subservient to
4Latinserviō—
5Latinservusa servant; a serf; a slave
6Proto-Italicserwosguardian
7Proto-Indo-Europeanser-wo-sguardian
8Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →