servile

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈsɜː(ɹ)ˌvaɪl/ / /ˈsəɹ.vəl/ / /ˈsəɹˌvaɪl/

adj

Etymology: From Middle English servyle, from Old French servil, servile, from Latin servīlis, from servus (“slave”). By surface analysis, serve + -ile.

Excessively eager to please; obsequious.
“British “subjects” (not citizens, note) are just that: gleefully servile to the monarchy’s institutionalised inequality...”
Slavish or submissive.
“servile flattery servile obedience”
“Even fortune rules no more, O servile land!”
Slavish or submissive.
Not belonging to the original root.
“a servile letter”
Not sounded, but serving to lengthen the preceding vowel, like the e in tune.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English servyle, from Old French servil, servile, from Latin servīlis, from servus (“slave”). By surface analysis, serve + -ile.

An element which forms no part of the original root.
A slave; a menial.