noun
serf
SURF/sɜːrf/
A peasant legally bound to live and work on a lord's land.
The serf works his lord's field with simple wooden tools.
Etymology
The ancestor meant “slave,” and serf initially covered servants and enslaved people. It later became a more specific label for unfree agricultural workers attached to a lord’s land.
In context
Thomas, doesn't, own, his, land, he is, a, serf, technically, the, Abbey, owns, his land, so, the, only, person, he, can, sell, his land, to, is, the, Abbey,
More examples
- The lord requires each serf to work three days a week.
- Her ancestors were serfs on a large estate.
- Unlike a free peasant, a serf is legally bound to the land.
Forms
serf · serfs
serfdom noun — The condition of being a serf.
Similar words
- peasant
- A rural agricultural worker, not necessarily legally bound to land.
- villein
- A medieval serf, especially one holding land in return for labor.