serf
A partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, attached like a slave to the land…A partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, attached like a slave to the land owned by a feudal lord and required to perform labour, enjoying minimal legal or customary rights.
» See how the serfs work the ground?
NikiTricky · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 sensesA partially free peasant of a low hereditary class, attached like a slave to the land owned by a feudal lord and required to perform labour, enjoying minimal legal or customary rights.
(Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord
A similar agricultural labourer in 18th and 19th century Europe.
A worker unit.
Leibeigener
крепостно́йkrepostnój, крепостна́яkrepostnája, холо́пxolóp
кріпосни́йkriposnýj, кріпосна́kriposná, кріпа́кkripák
Examples
5 sentencesSee how the serfs work the ground?
Do you see how the serfs work the ground?
I am a serf.
ruЯ крепостной. — megamanenm
deIch bin ein Leibeigener. — megamanenm
I'm just a lowly serf.
The company basically treated its workers like serfs - controlling nearly every aspect of their lives.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”)From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.