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Meanings of serf in English

Portuguese
escravo
Catalan
serf

(Middle Ages) a person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord.

escravo
Russian
крепостной

Agricultural labourer bound by the feudal system who was tied to working on a lord's estate.

Related terms
крепостной
Synonyms
Examples for "serfs"
Examples for "serfs"
1
In the old days of the serfs, it was all very well.
His Hour
2
The vanguard was overthrown; its men made serfs and its women mothers.
The Story of Ab: A Tale of the Time of the Cave Man
3
The mass of the non-freemen were regarded as serfs of the king.
The History of Rome, Book V / The Establishment of the Military ...
4
No, the serfs of the Middle Ages were in no sense happy.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1862 / Devoted t...
5
Extend the vote to the serfs and slaves and abolish the robber-barons?
The Robot Who Looked Like Me
Usage of serf in English
1
The chief causes of the rise of the serf were the following:
A Short History of Wales
2
But the same could be said of every serf in the kingdom.
Worldwinder
3
In 1220, scarcely a serf was to be found in all Flanders.
Holland: The History of the Netherlands
4
Apparently a lot harder than a feudal serf of the Ancien Regime.
Radio NZ
5
He paused in mid stride, eying the escaped serf up and down.
Millennium
6
One was the son of a noble, the other of a serf.
A March on London: Being a Story of Wat Tyler's Insurrection
7
Upon which the serf raised himself and left the room, smiling throughout.
The Lock and Key Library: the Most Interesting Stories of All Na...
8
The founder of the great silversmiths' firm of Ovtchinnikoff was a serf.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 2, ...
9
But the oppressed serf was reluctant to adopt such an extreme measure.
Russia
10
Flor, the serf-nowFlorel Derikuna, swordsman at large-wasin a new land.
Millennium
11
He mourned for the unfortunate Cossacks and his poor serf, Ivan Petrowitsch.
The Merchant of Berlin: An Historical Novel
12
He is a candidate, rising from the serf class to our class.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
13
But our followers are too servant-like and serf-like to be offensive fighters.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
14
The serf was evolving into a free man all over western Europe.
The History of Education / Educational Practice and Progress Con...
15
And when a serf becomes insolent, we have ways of punishing him.
Millennium
16
I may not look like it, but I am a modern-day serf.
The Guardian
About this term
More collocations
Translations for serf
Portuguese
escravoservo
Catalan
serf
Serf through the time
Serf across language varieties
United Kingdom
Common
United States of America
Less common