# serve

> English word · Noun · IPA /sɜːv/ · frequency rank #1,502

## Definitions
1. An act of putting the ball or shuttlecock in play in various games.
2. A portion of food or drink, a serving.
3. An impressive presentation (especially of a person's appearance).

## Etymology
From Middle English serven, from Old French servir, from Latin serviō (“be a slave; serve”), from Latin servus (“slave; servant”), which perhaps derives from Etruscan (compare Etruscan proper names 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌉 (servi), 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌅𐌄 (serve)), or from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“watch over, protect”).

## Easily confused with
- **sure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-sure)
- **sore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-sore)
- **sire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-sire)
- **seven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-seven)
- **Steve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-steve)
- **solve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-solve)
- **slave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-slave)
- **shave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-shave)
- **surge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-surge)
- **stove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-stove)
- **shove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-shove)
- **spree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-spree)
- **sever** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-sever)
- **stave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-stave)
- **sieve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-sieve)
- **servo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-servo)
- **suave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-suave)
- **served** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-served)
- **survey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-survey)
- **server** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-server)

## Common misspellings (7)
`esrve`, `serev`, `serrve`, `servve`, `sevre`, `sreve`, `sserve`

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