Serpulian, Serpulidan Ser·pu"li·an, Ser·pu"li·dan noun (Zoology) A serpula.

Serpulite Ser"pu·lite noun A fossil serpula shell.

Serr Serr transitive verb [ French serrer . See Serry .] To crowd, press, or drive together. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

Serranoid Ser·ra"noid noun [ New Latin Serranus , a typical genus (fr. Latin serra a saw) + - oid .] (Zoology) Any fish of the family Serranidæ , which includes the striped bass, the black sea bass, and many other food fishes. -- adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Serranidæ .

Serrate, Serrated Ser"rate, Ser"ra·ted adjective [ Latin serratus , from serra a saw; perhaps akin to secare to cut, English saw a cutting instrument. Confer Sierra .] 1. Notched on the edge, like a saw. 2. (Botany) Beset with teeth pointing forwards or upwards; as, serrate leaves. Doubly serrate , having small serratures upon the large ones, as the leaves of the elm. -- Serrate- ciliate , having fine hairs, like the eyelashes, on the serratures; -- said of a leaf. -- Serrate- dentate , having the serratures toothed.

Serration Ser·ra"tion noun 1. Condition of being serrate; formation in the shape of a saw. 2. One of the teeth in a serrate or serrulate margin.

Serratirostral Ser·ra`ti·ros"tral adjective [ Serrate + rostral .] (Zoology) Having a toothed bill, like that of a toucan.

Serrator Ser·ra"tor noun [ New Latin ] (Zoology) The ivory gull ( Larus eburneus ).

Serrature Ser"ra·ture noun [ Latin serratura a sawing, from serrare to saw.] 1. A notching, like that between the teeth of a saw, in the edge of anything. Martyn. 2. One of the teeth in a serrated edge; a serration.

Serricated Ser"ri·ca`ted adjective [ See Sericeous .] Covered with fine silky down.

Serricorn Ser"ri·corn adjective [ Latin serra saw + cornu horn.] (Zoology) Having serrated antenn....

Serricorn Ser"ri·corn noun (Zoology) Any one of a numerous tribe of beetles ( Serricornia ). The joints of the antennæ are prominent, thus producing a serrate appearance. See Illust. under Antenna .

Serried Ser"ried adjective [ See Serry .] Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together.

Nor seemed it to relax their serried files.

Milton.

Serrifera Ser·rif"e·ra noun plural [ New Latin , from Latin serra saw + ferre to bear.] (Zoology) A division of Hymenoptera comprising the sawflies.

Serrirostres Ser`ri·ros"tres noun plural [ New Latin from Latin serra saw + rostrum beak.] (Zoology) Same as Lamellirostres .

Serrous Ser"rous adjective [ Latin serra a saw.] Like the teeth off a saw; jagged. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Serrula Ser"ru·la noun [ Latin , a little saw.] (Zoology) The red-breasted merganser.

Serrulate, Serrulated Ser"rulate, Ser"ru·la`ted adjective [ Latin serrula a little saw, dim. of serra a saw.] Finely serrate; having very minute teeth.

Serrulation Ser`ru·la"tion noun 1. The state of being notched minutely, like a fine saw. Wright. 2. One of the teeth in a serrulate margin.

Serry Ser"ry transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Serried ; present participle & verbal noun Serrying .] [ French serrer , Late Latin serrare , serare , from Latin sera a bar, bolt; akin to serere to join or bind together. See Serries .] To crowd; to press together. [ Now perhaps only in the form serried , past participle or adjective ]

Sertularia Ser`tu·la"ri·a noun [ New Latin , dim. from Latin serta a garland.] (Zoology) A genus of delicate branching hydroids having small sessile hydrothecæ along the sides of the branches.

Sertularian Ser`tu·la"ri·an noun (Zoology) Any species of Sertularia, or of Sertularidæ , a family of hydroids having branched chitinous stems and simple sessile hydrothecæ. Also used adjectively.

Serum Se"rum (sē"rŭm) noun [ Latin , akin to Greek ........., Sanskrit sāra curd.] (Physiol.) (a) The watery portion of certain animal fluids, as blood, milk, etc. (b) A thin watery fluid, containing more or less albumin, secreted by the serous membranes of the body, such as the pericardium and peritoneum. Blood serum , the pale yellowish fluid which exudes from the clot formed in the coagulation of the blood; the liquid portion of the blood, after removal of the blood corpuscles and the fibrin. -- Muscle serum , the thin watery fluid which separates from the muscles after coagulation of the muscle plasma; the watery portion of the plasma. See Muscle plasma , under Plasma . -- Serum albumin (Physiol. Chem.) , an albuminous body, closely related to egg albumin, present in nearly all serous fluids; esp., the albumin of blood serum. -- Serum globulin (Physiol. Chem.) , paraglobulin. -- Serum of milk (Physiol. Chem.) , the whey, or fluid portion of milk, remaining after removal of the casein and fat.

Serum-therapy Se"rum-ther`a·py noun (Medicine) The treatment of disease by the injection of blood serum from immune animals.

Servable Serv"a·ble adjective [ See Serve .] 1. Capable of being served. 2. [ Latin servabilis .] Capable of being preserved. [ R.]

Servage Serv"age noun [ Confer French servage .] Serfage; slavery; servitude. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Serval Ser"val noun [ Confer French serval .] (Zoology) An African wild cat ( Felis serval ) of moderate size. It has rather long legs and a tail of moderate length. Its color is tawny, with black spots on the body and rings of black on the tail.

Servaline Ser"val·ine adjective (Zoology) Related to, or resembling, the serval.

Servant Serv"ant noun [ Middle English servant , servaunt , French servant , a & present participle of servir to serve, Latin servire . See Serve , and confer Sergeant .] 1. One who serves, or does services, voluntarily or on compulsion; a person who is employed by another for menial offices, or for other labor, and is subject to his command; a person who labors or exerts himself for the benefit of another, his master or employer; a subordinate helper. "A yearly hired servant ." Lev. xxv. 53.

Men in office have begun to think themselves mere agents and servants of the appointing power, and not agents of the government or the country.

D. Webster. » In a legal sense, stewards, factors, bailiffs, and other agents, are servants for the time they are employed in such character, as they act in subordination to others. So any person may be legally the servant of another, in whose business, and under whose order, direction, and control, he is acting for the time being. Chitty. 2. One in a state of subjection or bondage.

Thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt.

Deut. v. 15. 3. A professed lover or suitor; a gallant. [ Obsolete]

In my time a servant was I one.

Chaucer. Servant of servants , one debased to the lowest condition of servitude. -- Your humble servant , or Your obedient servant , phrases of civility often used in closing a letter.

Our betters tell us they are our humble servants , but understand us to be their slaves.

Swift.

Servant Serv"ant transitive verb To subject. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Servantess Serv"ant·ess noun A maidservant. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Servantry Serv"ant·ry noun A body of servants; servants, collectively. [ R.]

Serve Serve transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Served ; present participle & verbal noun Serving .] [ Middle English serven , servien , Old French & French servir , from Latin servire ; akin to servus a servant or slave, servare to protect, preserve, observe; confer Zend har to protect, haurva protecting. Confer Conserve , Desert merit, Dessert , Observe , Serf , Sergeant .] 1. To work for; to labor in behalf of; to exert one's self continuously or statedly for the benefit of; to do service for; to be in the employment of, as an inferior, domestic, serf, slave, hired assistant, official helper, etc.; specifically, in a religious sense, to obey and worship.

God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit.

Rom. i. 9.

Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

Gen. xxix. 18.

No man can serve two masters.

Matt. vi. 24.

Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.

Shak. 2. To be subordinate to; to act a secondary part under; to appear as the inferior of; to minister to.

Bodies bright and greater should not serve
The less not bright.

Milton. 3. To be suitor to; to profess love to. [ Obsolete]

To serve a lady in his beste wise.

Chaucer. 4. To wait upon; to supply the wants of; to attend; specifically, to wait upon at table; to attend at meals; to supply with food; as, to serve customers in a shop.

Others, pampered in their shameless pride,
Are served in plate and in their chariots ride.

Dryden. 5. Hence, to bring forward, arrange, deal, or distribute, as a portion of anything, especially of food prepared for eating; -- often with up ; formerly with in .

Bid them cover the table, serve in the meat, and we will come in to dinner.

Shak.

Some part he roasts, then serves it up so dressed.

Dryde. 6. To perform the duties belonging to, or required in or for; hence, to be of use to; as, a curate may serve two churches; to serve one's country. 7. To contribute or conduce to; to promote; to be sufficient for; to satisfy; as, to serve one's turn.

Turn it into some advantage, by observing where it can serve another end.

Jer. Taylor. 8. To answer or be (in the place of something) to; as, a sofa serves one for a seat and a couch. 9. To treat; to behave one's self to; to requite; to act toward; as, he served me very ill. 10. To work; to operate; as, to serve the guns. 11. (Law) (a) To bring to notice, deliver, or execute, either actually or constructively, in such manner as the law requires; as, to serve a summons. (b) To make legal service opon (a person named in a writ, summons, etc.); as, to serve a witness with a subpœna. 12. To pass or spend, as time, esp. time of punishment; as, to serve a term in prison. 13. To copulate with; to cover; as, a horse serves a mare; -- said of the male. 14. (Tennis) To lead off in delivering (the ball). 15. (Nautical) To wind spun yarn, or the like, tightly around (a rope or cable, etc.) so as to protect it from chafing or from the weather. See under Serving . To serve an attachment or a writ of attachment (Law) , to levy it on the person or goods by seizure, or to seize. -- To serve an execution (Law) , to levy it on a lands, goods, or person, by seizure or taking possession. -- To serve an office , to discharge a public duty. -- To serve a process (Law) , in general, to read it, so as to give due notice to the party concerned, or to leave an attested copy with him or his attorney, or his usual place of abode. -- To serve a warrant , to read it, and seize the person against whom it is issued. -- To serve a writ (Law) , to read it to the defendant, or to leave an attested copy at his usual place of abode. -- To serve one out , to retaliate upon; to requite. "I'll serve you out for this." C. Kingsley. -- To serve one right , to treat, or cause to befall one, according to his deserts; -- used commonly of ill deserts; as, it serves the scoundrel right . -- To serve one's self of , to avail one's self of; to make use of. [ A Gallicism]

I will serve myself of this concession.

Chillingworth. -- To serve out , to distribute; as, to serve out rations. -- To serve the time or the hour , to regulate one's actions by the requirements of the time instead of by one's duty; to be a timeserver. [ Obsolete]

They think herein we serve the time , because thereby we either hold or seek preferment.

Hooker. Syn. -- To obey; minister to; subserve; promote; aid; help; assist; benefit; succor.

Serve Serve intransitive verb 1. To be a servant or a slave; to be employed in labor or other business for another; to be in subjection or bondage; to render menial service.

The Lord shall give thee rest . . . from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve .

Isa. xiv. 3. 2. To perform domestic offices; to be occupied with household affairs; to prepare and dish up food, etc.

But Martha . . . said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?

Luke x. 40. 3. To be in service; to do duty; to discharge the requirements of an office or employment. Specifically, to act in the public service, as a soldier, seaman. etc.

Many . . . who had before been great commanders, but now served as private gentlemen without pay.

Knolles. 4. To be of use; to answer a purpose; to suffice; to suit; to be convenient or favorable.

This little brand will serve to light your fire.

Dryden.

As occasion serves , this noble queen
And prince shall follow with a fresh supply.

Shak. 5. (Tennis) To lead off in delivering the ball.

Server Serv"er noun 1. One who serves. 2. A tray for dishes; a salver. Randolph.

Servian Ser"vi·an adjective Of or pertaining to Servia, a kingdom of Southern Europe. -- noun A native or inhabitant of Servia.

Service Serv"ice noun , or Serv"ice [ Properly, the tree which bears serve , Middle English serves , plural, service berries, Anglo-Saxon syrfe service tree; akin to Latin sorbus .] (Botany) A name given to several trees and shrubs of the genus Pyrus , as Pyrus domestica and P. torminalis of Europe, the various species of mountain ash or rowan tree, and the American shad bush (see Shad bush , under Shad ). They have clusters of small, edible, applelike berries. Service berry (Botany) , the fruit of any kind of service tree. In British America the name is especially applied to that of the several species or varieties of the shad bush ( Amelanchier .)

Service Serv"ice noun [ Middle English servise , Old French servise , service , French service , from Latin servitium . See Serve .] 1. The act of serving; the occupation of a servant; the performance of labor for the benefit of another, or at another's command; attendance of an inferior, hired helper, slave, etc., on a superior, employer, master, or the like; also, spiritual obedience and love. "O God . . . whose service is perfect freedom." Bk. of Com. Prayer.

Madam, I entreat true peace of you,
Which I will purchase with my duteous service .

Shak.

God requires no man's service upon hard and unreasonable terms.

Tillotson. 2. The deed of one who serves; labor performed for another; duty done or required; office.

I have served him from the hour of my nativity, . . . and have nothing at his hands for my service but blows.

Shak.

This poem was the last piece of service I did for my master, King Charles.

Dryden.

To go on the forlorn hope is a service of peril; who will understake it if it be not also a service of honor?

Macaulay. 3. Office of devotion; official religious duty performed; religious rites appropriate to any event or ceremonial; as, a burial service .

The outward service of ancient religion, the rites, ceremonies, and ceremonial vestments of the old law.

Coleridge. 4. Hence, a musical composition for use in churches. 5. Duty performed in, or appropriate to, any office or charge; official function; hence, specifically, military or naval duty; performance of the duties of a soldier.

When he cometh to experience of service abroad . . . ne maketh a worthy soldier.

Spenser. 6. Useful office; advantage conferred; that which promotes interest or happiness; benefit; avail.

The stork's plea, when taken in a net, was the service she did in picking up venomous creatures.

L'Estrange. 7. Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed. "Pray, do my service to his majesty." Shak. 8. The act and manner of bringing food to the persons who eat it; order of dishes at table; also, a set or number of vessels ordinarily used at table; as, the service was tardy and awkward; a service of plate or glass.

There was no extraordinary service seen on the board.

Hakewill. 9. (Law) The act of bringing to notice, either actually or constructively, in such manner as is prescribed by law; as, the service of a subpœna or an attachment. 10. (Nautical) The materials used for serving a rope, etc., as spun yarn, small lines, etc. 11. (Tennis) The act of serving the ball. 12. Act of serving or covering. See Serve , transitive verb , 13. Service book , a prayer book or missal. - - Service line (Tennis) , a line parallel to the net, and at a distance of 21 feet from it. -- Service of a writ , process , etc. (Law) , personal delivery or communication of the writ or process, etc., to the party to be affected by it, so as to subject him to its operation; the reading of it to the person to whom notice is intended to be given, or the leaving of an attested copy with the person or his attorney, or at his usual place of abode. -- Service of an attachment (Law) , the seizing of the person or goods according to the direction. -- Service of an execution (Law) , the levying of it upon the goods, estate, or person of the defendant. -- Service pipe , a pipe connecting mains with a dwelling, as in gas pipes, and the like. Tomlinson. -- To accept service . (Law) See under Accept . -- To see service (Mil.) , to do duty in the presence of the enemy, or in actual war.

Service cap, hat Serv"ice cap, hat (Mil.) A cap or hat worn by officers or enlisted men when full-dress uniform, or dress uniform, is not worn. In the United States army the service cap is round, about 3½ inches high, flat-topped, with a visor. The service hat is of soft felt of khaki color, with broad brim and high crown, creased down the middle.

Service uniform Service uniform (Mil. & Nav.) The uniform prescribed in regulations for active or routine service, in distinction from dress, full dress, etc. In the United States army it is of olive-drab woolen or khaki-colored cotton, with all metal attachments of dull-finish bronze, with the exceptional of insignia of rank, which are of gold or silver finish.

Serviceable Serv"ice·a·ble adjective 1. Doing service; promoting happiness, interest, advantage, or any good; useful to any end; adapted to any good end use; beneficial; advantageous. " Serviceable to religion and learning". Atterbury. " Serviceable tools." Macaulay.

I know thee well, a serviceable villain.

Shak. 2. Prepared for rendering service; capable of, or fit for, the performance of duty; hence, active; diligent.

Courteous he was, lowly, and servysable .

Chaucer.

Bright-hearnessed angels sit in order serviceable .

Milton.

Seeing her so sweet and serviceable .

Tennnyson. -- Serv"ice*a*ble*ness , noun -- Serv"ice*a*bly , adverb

Serviceage Serv"ice·age noun Servitude. [ Obsolete] Fairfax.

Servient Serv"i·ent adjective [ Latin serviens , -entis , present participle See Serve .] Subordinate. [ Obsolete except in law.] Dyer. Servient tenement or estate (Law) , that on which the burden of a servitude or an easement is imposed. Confer Dominant estate , under Dominant . Gale & Whately.

Serviette Ser`viette" noun [ French] A table napkin.

Servile Serv"ile adjective [ Latin servile , from servus a servant or slave: confer French servile . See Serve .] 1. Of or pertaining to a servant or slave; befitting a servant or a slave; proceeding from dependence; hence, meanly submissive; slavish; mean; cringing; fawning; as, servile flattery; servile fear; servile obedience.

She must bend the servile knee.

Thomson.

Fearing dying pays death servile breath.

Shak. 2. Held in subjection; dependent; enslaved.

Even fortune rules no more, O servile land!

Pope. 3. (Gram.) (a) Not belonging to the original root; as, a servile letter. (b) Not itself sounded, but serving to lengthen the preceeding vowel, as e in tune .

Servile Serv"ile noun (Gram.) An element which forms no part of the original root; -- opposed to radical .

Servilely Serv"ile·ly adverb In a servile manner; slavishly.

Servileness Serv"ile·ness noun Quality of being servile; servility.

Servility Ser·vil"i·ty noun [ Confer French servilité .] The quality or state of being servile; servileness.

To be a queen in bondage is more vile
Than is a slave in base servility .

Shak.

Serving Serv"ing adjective & noun from Serve . Serving board (Nautical) , a flat piece of wood used in serving ropes. -- Serving maid , a female servant; a maidservant. -- Serving mallet (Nautical) , a wooden instrument shaped like a mallet, used in serving ropes. -- Serving man , a male servant, or attendant; a manservant. -- Serving stuff (Nautical) , small lines for serving ropes.