servant

The word “servant” means a person employed to do household or personal work for someone else. In plain terms, someone whose job is to work for and help another person.

“Servant” is pronounced SUR-vuhnt (/ˈsɝvənt/ in IPA).

Here is “servant” used in a sentence: “The old manor house once had a dozen servants living on the grounds.”

“Servant” is a noun.

The word “servant” comes from Latin. From Old French servant, the present participle of servir ("to serve"), ultimately from Latin servire.

“Servant” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Servant” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a person employed to do household or personal work for someone else.

A servant is a person employed to do household or personal work, is paid, and is free to leave the job. A slave is held as property and forced to work without freedom or pay. Employment is the defining feature of a servant, and the distinction matters both historically and legally.

A civil servant is someone employed in the civil administration of a state — "civil" distinguishes this work from military service. The term reflects the idea that public officials serve the public, one of the broader senses of servant as someone who serves or helps others.

Servant is the general term for anyone employed to do household or personal work. A maid is one specific kind of servant: a woman employed chiefly for cleaning and other domestic duties.

In the sense of household staff, servant now sounds old-fashioned, and terms such as domestic worker, housekeeper, or cleaner are generally preferred. The word remains fully current in fixed phrases such as civil servant and public servant, and in figurative uses like "a servant of the community".