servant (English)

Where does "servant" come from?

The English noun 'servant' comes from Middle English 'servaunt'[1], which was adopted from Old French 'servant'[1], the present participle of the verb 'servir'[3]. Morphologically, it is formed from the verb 'serve' combined with the suffix '-ant'[1]. This term eventually displaced the native Old English word 'þeġn'[1]. The underlying verb traces back through Old French 'servir' and Latin 'serviō' to the Latin noun 'servus', meaning 'slave' or 'servant'[2].

Open questions

The Latin noun servus may derive from Etruscan, or alternatively from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to watch over or protect. [2] [4] [8]

Full etymology tree

servant (English), 'One who is hired to perform regular household or other duties, and receives compensation. As opposed to a slave.'
- inherited servaunt (Middle English), 'A labourer or employee; one who works for another:'
  - borrowed servent (Old French)
    - derived servir (Old French), 'to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)'
      - derived servire (Latin), 'present active infinitive of serviō'

Ancestors

servaunt (Middle English)
servant (Old French)
serve (English)
-ant (English)

Cognates and doublets

sergeant (English)
servient (English)

Descendants and derived words

assigned servant (English)
body servant (English)
captain's servant (English)
civil servant (English)
covenanted servant (English)
domestic servant (English)
even-servant (English)
eye-servant (English)
fellow servant (English)
indentured servant (English)
maid-servant (English)
maidservant (English)

Related words

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris