servantlyadj.
/ˈsəːv(ə)ntli/, U.S. /ˈsərvən(t)li/ Of the nature of, characteristic of, appropriate for, or resembling a servant.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > piety > [adjective]
GodfrightOE
goodOE
ghostlyOE
Godfrightya1225
seelya1225
devout?c1225
piteousc1300
spiritualc1384
graciousa1387
godlyc1390
pitifulc1449
inwardc1450
piousc1450
evangelica1475
servantly1503
obedientiala1513
Christian1526
well-believing1529
God-fearing1548
resigneda1555
heavenly minded1569
timorate1570
Godfull1593
pious1595
fearful1597
devoutful1598
devotea1625
serious1684
unctuous1742
theopathetic1749
fire-spirited1845
theopathic1846
unctional1849
interior1854
devotionate1864
sacramental1874
pi1891
1503 T. Lewington tr. Art of Good Lywyng & Good Deyng sig. xiij/1 They shalbe holdyn seruantly as ewy [perhaps read ewyl] et Wekyt seruans.
?1526 M. Roper tr. Erasmus Deuout Treat. Pater Noster i. sig. b.ivv The moost holy spyrite of thy sonne: Whiche (all seruauntlye feares shaken of) boldely cryeth out in our hertes without cessyng, Abba pater.
a1603 T. Cartwright Confut. Rhemists New Test. (1618) 78 You call the Pope the most seruantlie seruant of the Church.
1654 T. Cobbet Pract. Disc. Prayer i. i. 13 He cometh with a servantly spirit, for mercy from God, ready pressed to doe any work of his.
1851 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 284/2 You will observe an old decent-looking man, or a servantly woman, toiling up from the town below.
1920 W. Irwin Trimmed with Red xv. 225 Owley's tall, servantly figure was admitted through a crack in the door.
2012 Antioch Rev. 70 677 Those maids and gardeners are still here..and the only word that really applies to that voice outside the door, servantly but in no way servile, is ‘colored’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1503