MEANING
An agricultural laborer bound to a lord's land and subject to imposed obligations.
Use it for
unfree rural labor; inherited obligations; struggles for mobilityMake a landscape's labor system visible through restricted choices.
Words that belong together
- bound serf
- serf labor
- free a serf
On the page
The serf needed permission to leave the estate.
A serf knew the fields better than the lord who claimed them.
She freed the serfs before offering the land for sale.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- serf
Usage notes
Primary category: fantasy. Not freely mobile like a wage worker; legal status differed across societies, and serfdom is not identical to every form of slavery. Noun: serf; plural serfs.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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