servile

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“
Meantime, that vast mass of the population of Western Europe whose condition was servile or semi-servile--the Roman and German personal slaves, the Roman coloni and the German lidi_--were concurrently absorbed by the feudal organisation, a few of them assuming a menial relation to the lords, but the greater part receiving land on terms which in those centuries were considered degrading.

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Definitions (15)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Abjectly submissive; slavish.
  2. adjective Of or suitable to a slave or servant.
  3. adjective Of or relating to servitude or forced labor.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • Disraeli had a motto to the effect that it is better to be impudent than servile, and in order to teach Parliament that in the presence of personality all rules are waived, he very shortly indulged him in an exceeding spread-eagle speech. —  Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 5
  • Connotatively, it implies "to make like a dog" - base, servile, and submissive. ... —  Never Yet Melted
  • Connotatively, it implies "to make like a dog" - base, servile, and submissive. —  Israpundit
  • [198] The dread of injury made the timid servile, and corrupted private intercourse. —  The History of Tasmania, Volume I
  • Meantime, that vast mass of the population of Western Europe whose condition was servile or semi-servile--the Roman and German personal slaves, the Roman coloni and the German lidi_--were concurrently absorbed by the feudal organisation, a few of them assuming a menial relation to the lords, but the greater part receiving land on terms which in those centuries were considered degrading. —  Ancient Law Its Connection to the History of Early Society
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

slavish ·  abject ·  submissive ·  obsequious ·  humble ·  menial ·  degrade ·  ignoble ·  reverent ·  timid ·  cowardly ·  subservient
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Latin servīlis, from servus, slave.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English servile, from Old French (and F.)servile = Provencal Spanish Portuguese servil = Italian servile, from Latin servilis, of a slave, servile, from servus, a slave: see serf and serve.
 

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/ˈsərvɪl/
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