Where does “subservient” come from?

Subservient derives from Latin subserviens, the present participle of subservio meaning to serve under, formed from sub meaning under and ser- meaning to serve.

subservient (English): Useful in an inferior capacity; Obsequiously...

Definitions

  1. Useful in an inferior capacity; Obsequiously...

Ancestry of “subservient”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinsubserviens
2LatinsubservioI serve; am subservient to
3Latinserviōto be a slave to; to serve
4Latinservusa servant; a serf; a slave
5Proto-Italicserwosguardian
6Proto-Indo-Europeanser-wo-sguardian
7Proto-Indo-Europeanser-to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together

Words derived from “subservient”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ser- →