servile

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

adjective submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
adjective relating to or involving slaves or appropriate for slaves or servants

From Middle English servyle, from Old French servil, servile, from Latin servīlis, from servus (“slave”). By surface analysis, serve + -ile.

But no servile war ensued. — Great Britain and the American Civil War, Ephraim Douglass Adams
Marcus came, with servile submission. — Nicanor - Teller of Tales : A Story of Roman Britain, C. Bryson Taylor
A bit servile, in fact. — Robert Orange: Being a Continuation of the History of Robert Orange, John Oliver Hobbes

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