serf
/sɜːf/
"serf" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“serf” is an uncommon English word, ranked #59,008 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #59,008
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | serf |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /sɜːf/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #59,008 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “serf” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for serf is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sɜːf/. Corpus data places it at rank #59,008 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for serf in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”). The correct English form is serf, spelled S-E-R-F.
Definition
- 1A 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.
- 2A similar agricultural labourer in 18th and 19th century Europe.
- 3A worker unit.
Etymology
From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”).
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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "serf"?
What does "serf" mean?
How do you pronounce "serf"?
What is the origin of the word "serf"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “serf”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-E-R-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /sɜːf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.