servitù

Forms

servitù f (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin servitūs (“slavery, servitude”), through its accusative, with the final syllable dropped.^[2][3][4][1] Older forms were Old Italian servitute, Old Italian servitude and Old Italian servitudine.^[5][6][1] The last answers to the rare Latin servitūdō, which Tommaseo notes as doubtful in Livy.^[7]

The Latin noun is formed on servus (“slave”).^[8][1] De Vaan follows Rix in taking Proto-Italic *serwo- to have meant “guardian, shepherd”, a word that turned to “slave” in Italy between 700 and 450 BC; it is built on the root Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to watch over, protect”).^[8] Nocentini notes that slavery was foreign to the Indo-European tradition, so that each language adapted a word that first meant something else.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the form servitudine in Bono Giamboni's Libro de' vizî e delle virtudi (before 1292), in the sense “the condition of a servant or slave”;^[5][4] servitù itself appears in Dino Compagni (1310–1312).^[5][4] Zingarelli dates the word to 1268.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Petrarch wrote that no one ever grieved for servitude or death as he did for his freedom: Nessun di servitù già mai si dolse / Né di morte quant'io di libertate.^[7][10] The legal sense, a limitation of the right of property, is found as servitudine in Giovanni dalle Celle (before 1396) and as servitù in Vasari (before 1574).^[5] Maria Celeste Galilei (before 1634) used the word for the whole household staff, a sense DEI places in the 17th century with Segneri.^[5][6]

The word also names the political subjection of a people, the captivity of animals and, figuratively, any heavy tie such as fixed working hours.^[4][11][12] Servitù della gleba is the medieval serfdom that bound the peasant to the land he worked.^[11][10]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses servitudine.^[5]
• 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses servitù.^[5]
• Before 1396 – Giovanni dalle Celle uses servitudine as a legal term.^[5]
• Before 1574 – Vasari uses servitù in the legal sense.^[5]
• Before 1634 – Maria Celeste Galilei uses it for household staff.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. servitude, bondage: the condition of a servant or slave;^[4][11][1] servitù della gleba: serfdom.^[4][11][1]
2. Political subjection, lack of freedom and independence: Il paese uscì da secoli di servitù.^[4][11][12]
3. (figurative) Something that limits one's freedom, a heavy tie: Per lui il cartellino è una vera servitù.^[4][11][3]
4. Of animals: captivity.^[4][3][12]
5. The domestic staff of a house, the servants as a group.^[4][11][3]
6. (law) An easement: a limit on the use of one property for the benefit of another, as in servitù di passaggio.^[4][11][9]

Related words

• servo
• servire
• servile
• servaggio
• Latin servitūs

Usage notes

Zingarelli distinguishes servitù, subjection without autonomy or dignity, from schiavitù, which adds the loss of basic rights and personal freedom.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3465
7. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana