serva

See also: servä

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin sorbus, with unexplained mutation of the vowel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈse̞r.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈsər.və]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsɛr.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈseɾ.va]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ˈser.ba]

Noun

serva f (plural serves)

1. serviceberry (fruit)

Derived terms

• server

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin serva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈse̞r.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈser.və]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈser.bə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈseɾ.va]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [ˈser.ba]

Noun

serva f (plural serves)

1. female equivalent of serf

Galician

Noun

serva f (plural servas)

1. female equivalent of servo

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛr.va/
• Rhymes: -ɛrva
• Hyphenation: sèr‧va

Etymology 1

From Latin serva.

Noun

serva f (plural serve, masculine servo)

1. (literary) (female) slave

   Synonym: schiava

2. servant, maid

   domestica, cameriera

Derived terms

• servetta
• sottoserva

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

serva f sg

1. feminine singular of servo

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

serva

1. inflection of servire:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• versa

Latin

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ser-der.?

Proto-Italic *serwos

Latin servus

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Italic *-ā

Latin -a

Latin serva

From servus (“slave, servant”) + -a (feminine suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛr.wa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛr.va]

Noun

serva f (genitive servae, masculine servus); first declension

1. servant
2. a female slave

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	serva	servae
genitive	servae	servārum
dative	servae	servīs
accusative	servam	servās
ablative	servā	servīs
vocative	serva	servae

Etymology 2

Inflected form of servō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛr.waː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛr.va]

Verb

servā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of servō

References

• “serva”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “serva”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "serva", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) to examine slaves by torture: de servis quaerere (in dominum)
    

Maltese

Root
s-r-v-j
2 terms

Etymology

Borrowed from Sicilian sirviri (conjugated servi) and/or Italian servire, both from Latin servire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛr.va/
• Rhymes: -ɛrva

Verb

serva (imperfect jservi, past participle servit or servut or mservi)

1. to serve (arrange and provide food or drink)
2. to serve (render service to)

   Synonym: qeda

Conjugation

Conjugation of serva (Form Iq, final-weak)

positive forms
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
perfect	m	servejt	servejt	serva	servejna	servejtu	servew
	f			serviet
imperfect	m	nservi	sservi	jservi	nservu	sservu	jservu
	f			sservi
imperative			servi			servu
negative forms
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
perfect	m	servejtx	servejtx	serviex	servejniex	servejtux	servewx
	f			servietx
imperfect	m	nservix	sservix	jservix	nservux	sservux	jservux
	f			sservix
imperative			sservix			sservux

Derived terms

• sserva

Derived terms

• servizz

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

serva (present tense servar, past tense serva, past participle serva, passive infinitive servast, present participle servande, imperative serva/serv)

1. a-infinitive form of serve

Anagrams

• avser, ervas, revas, sarve, vares, versa

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛʁ.vɐ/ [ˈsɛɦ.vɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛʁ.vɐ/ [ˈsɛɦ.vɐ]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾ.vɐ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛʁ.vɐ/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɻ.vɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾ.vɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾ.vɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɾ.bɐ/ [ˈsɛɾ.βɐ]

• IPA^(key): (Sulista) /ˈsɛɾ.va/, /ˈsɛɹ.vɐ/, /ˈsɛɻ.vɐ/
• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛʁ.vɐ/

Noun

serva f (plural servas)

1. female equivalent of servo

Adjective

serva

1. feminine singular of servo

Further reading

• “serva”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “serva”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Swedish

Verb

serva (present servar, preterite servade, supine servat, imperative serva)

1. (sports) to serve (in tennis or volleyball); to put the ball in motion
2. to give service (to a car), to service, to maintain, to lube

Conjugation

Conjugation of serva (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	serva		servas
supine	servat		servats
imperative	serva		—
imper. plural1	serven		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	servar	servade	servas	servades
ind. plural1	serva	servade	servas	servades
subjunctive2	serve	servade	serves	servades
present participle		servande
past participle		servad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References

• “serva”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• avres, avser, varse, vaser