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serf

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The definition of a serf was an agricultural labor during the middle ages who was bound to work on a lord's estate.

(noun)

An agricultural worker in the middle ages who was responsible for growing and harvesting wheat on land owned by a lord and who paid dues to the lord for the privilege of living on the land is an example of a serf.

See serf in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

Obsolete a slave
a person in feudal servitude, bound to his or her master's land and transferred with it to a new owner
any person who is oppressed or without freedom

Origin: OFr < L servus, slave, prob. of Etr orig.

Related Forms:

serfdom noun or serfhood

See serf in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land owned by a lord and required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights.
An agricultural laborer under various similar systems, especially in 18th- and 19th-century Russia and eastern Europe.
A person in bondage or servitude.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old French

Origin: , from Latin servus, slave

Related Forms: