serve English · revision 2776

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1175|origins=la servus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /sɜːv/, US /sɝːv/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|serven]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|servir|t=to do duty toward; to serve at table; to provide]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|servīre|t=to be a slave, serve, be of use]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|servus|t=slave, servant]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline) It is perhaps from Etruscan, compare the Etruscan names Servi and Serve,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) but de Vaan derives it from Proto-Italic *serwo- “shepherd”, from [[ine-pro|*seruo-|t=guardian]], which in Italy took a pejorative turn to “slave”.^(Etymonline) The noun is from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To give service to, be useful to: about 1175 in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 12th century in Etymonline, as “to render obedience to, owe allegiance to; to minister, give aid”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1200 the verb had widespread senses: to be in someone's service, to attend as a personal servant, to be a slave, and to officiate at Mass.^(Etymonline) To set food on the table is from the early 13th century,^(Etymonline) and to wait on customers from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) “To meet the needs of, take the place of”, as in Shakespeare's “One turf shall serve as pillow for us both”, is first in Trevisa (1387).^(Barnhart 1988) “To treat someone in some way” is from the late 14th century, and ''serve someone right'' from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) In tennis the noun is from 1688,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) the 1680s in Etymonline, and ''service'' in the same sense from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) A helping of food is colloquial from 1920.^(OED 1989) To serve a writ or summons, to deliver it formally, is a legal sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1175 – to give service to.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – to be a servant; to officiate at Mass.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 13th century – to serve food.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – to wait on customers.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1387 – to meet a need.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1580s – ''serve someone right''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1688 – noun, a serve in tennis.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1920 – noun, a helping of food.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To work for or perform duties for; to be a [[servant]] to.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To set food or drink before someone; to wait on customers in a shop.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To do a term of duty, as in the armed forces, or of imprisonment: ''served ten years''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To be useful for a purpose; to [[function]] as: ''the sofa serves as a bed''.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # To put the ball into play in [[tennis]] and other games.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(law)'' To deliver a [[summons]] or [[writ]] to someone.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of serving in tennis and similar games.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[servable]]

+ * [[self-serve]]

+ * [[self-serving]]

+ * [[server]]

+ * [[servery]]

+ * [[service]]

+ * [[re-serve]]

+ * [[servile]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[conserve]]

+ * [[deserve]]

+ * [[preserve]]

+ * [[reserve]]

+ * [[subserve]]

+ * [[servant]]

+ * [[serf]]

+ * [[sergeant]]

+ * [[dessert]]

+ * [[observe]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Other, obsolete words spelled ''serve'' were an Old English noun for the service tree, from Latin sorbus, and a northern Middle English verb meaning “to deserve”.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}