servil

[zɛʁˈviːl]

/[zɛʁˈviːl]/ adj

The verdict

“servil” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - untertänig jemand Ranghöherem schmeichelnd

Corpus desk

Index DE-servil · servil · German

servil · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for servil
PropertyValue
Headwordservil
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[zɛʁˈviːl]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „servil“ im Deutschen

servilschafft es nicht in die Top 100.000 des Deutschen: Zone für Fach-, Alt- oder Seltenwortschatz.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

servil is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [zɛʁˈviːl]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "untertänig jemand Ranghöherem schmeichelnd".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for servil, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is servil, spelled S-E-R-V-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    untertänig jemand Ranghöherem schmeichelnd

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how servil appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Chauvinistische Frauen sind meist servil, obwohl sie das nicht zugeben können.
  2. „Der farbige Butler verbeugte sich stumm und ging. Seine Verbeugung war mehr freundschaftlich als servil und erfolgte auch nur, weil Johnny Besuch zum Dinner hatte.“

Synonyms

unterwürfigkriecherischknechtiglakaienhaft

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "servil"?
"servil" is spelled S-E-R-V-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is [zɛʁˈviːl].
What does "servil" mean?
As an adjective, "servil" means: untertänig jemand Ranghöherem schmeichelnd
How do you pronounce "servil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "servil" is [zɛʁˈviːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "servil" come from?
"servil" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list