Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

servant

/ˈsɝvənt/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.09 in modern English

Syllables: ser-vant
IPA: /ˈsɝvənt/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. As opposed to a slave.

noun

One who serves another, providing help in some manner.

noun

A person who dedicates themselves to God.

noun

A professed lover.

Obsolete

noun

A person of low condition or spirit.

verb

Obsolete; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"There are three servants in the household, the butler and two maids."
"In the great houses, servants out of livery help to the different plats, servants in livery holding the dishes, sauces, etc., and changing the plates."
"As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, but I would not go out of my way to protest against it. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. I would very gladly make mine over to him if I could."
"She is quite the humble servant, the poor in this city owe much to her but she expects nothing."
"Wife, Mother, Child, I know not. My affaires Are Seruanted to others[…]"

Etymology

From Middle English servaunt, from Old French servant, from the present participle of the verb servir. Doublet of sergeant and servient. Morphologically serve + -ant. Displaced native Old English þeġn.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: servaunt, servant

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈsɝvənt/
British English: /ˈsɜːvənt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

servants (plural) servaunt (alternative, obsolete) servand (alternative, obsolete) servants (present, singular) servanting (participle, present) servanted (participle, past) servanted (past)

Derived Forms

bondservant eyeservant maidservant manservant nonservant outservant servantage servantdom servantess servanthood servantless servantlike

Phrases

assigned servant body servant captain's servant civil servant covenanted servant domestic servant even-servant eye-servant

Synonyms

domestic retainer handmaid handmaiden

Rhymes With

observant fervent

Questions

How do you pronounce servant?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsɝvənt/.
What does servant mean?: One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. As opposed to a slave.
Where does servant come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce servant

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “servant”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsɝvənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “servant”.
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