# serf

> English word · Noun · IPA /sɜːf/ · frequency rank #59,008

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. A similar agricultural labourer in 18th and 19th century Europe.
3. A worker unit.

## Etymology
From Middle English serf, from Old French serf, from Latin servus (“slave, serf, servant”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/serf