late 15c., "servant, serving-man, slave," from Old French serf "vassal, servant, slave" (12c.), from Latin servum (nominative servus) "slave" (see serve). Fallen from use in original sense by 18c. Meaning "lowest class of cultivators of the soil in continental European countries" is from 1610s. Use by modern writers with reference to medieval Europeans first recorded 1761 (contemporary Anglo-Latin records used nativus, villanus, or servus).
双语例句
1. The serf - owners had the right to beat , abuse or even kill the serfs at will.
(那时) 农奴主 有权任意打骂甚至杀害农奴.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. In the Middle Ages, a lord and a serf had very different places in life.
中世纪, 农奴主和农奴在生活中是两个截然不同的阶级.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. This movement overthrew the serf system and freed a million serfs and slaves.
这一运动推翻了农奴制,并且解放了百万农奴和奴隶.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. This decentralized economic system relied on the legal immobility of the serf.