servitorn.
/ˈsəːvᵻtə/, /ˈsəːvᵻtɔː/, U.S. /ˈsərvədər/, /ˈsərvəˌtɔr/ 1. † d. A military attendant, a squire or page. Obsolete. rare.
a. A (usually male) personal or domestic attendant. Cf. servant n. 1. In early use especially referring to servants engaged to wait at table. Now chiefly archaic and historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > attendant or personal servant > [noun]
thanea700
yeoman1345
squirec1380
foot followera1382
handservanta1382
servitora1382
ministera1384
servera1425
squire of (or for) the body (or household)1450
attender1461
waitera1483
awaiter1495
tender?a1505
waiting-man1518
satellite?1520
attendant1555
sitter-byc1555
pediseque1606
asseclist?1607
tendant1614
assecle1616
fewterera1625
escudero1631
peon1638
wait1652
under spur-leather1685
body servant1689
slavey1819
tindal1859
maid-attendant1896
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings x. 5 Seeynge..qween Sabaa..þe hous þat he hadde bildid vp..& þe dwellyng placis of þe seruauntis, & þe ordris of þe seruytouris [L. ministrantium]..sche hadde no more spirit.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) ii. l. 4099 Statin, his stiward, spak to þe emperoure als his mete he sat & was his seruitoure.
1472 in J. Stuart & G. Burnett Exchequer Rolls Scotl. (1885) VIII. 157 Our lovete familiare servitieure of houshaulde Johnne of Wardelaw.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xiv. 92 He hed ane domestik seruitour.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Pains It must be set on the Table by a neat handed Servitor, lest it should be broken as it is serving up.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxix. 307 That favoured servitor entered his bed-chamber.
1918 Bellman 16 Nov. 543/1 The Lord Mayor of London has his own toastmaster as well as his individual liveried servitor who attends and serves him when he dines.
1983 G. Harris Seventh Gate iv. 65 Goblets of hot spiced wine were brought and accepted by O-grak and the four warriors attending him, but the servitors were ordered not to approach the two hooded figures.
b. More generally: a servant (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > [noun]
esnec950
hindc1230
servant1340
servitor1419
ministrer?a1425
servera1425
myrona1450
obeisantc1475
servient1541
lout1567
squire1570
roguea1616
administer1677
minion1820
ancillary1867
sweater1900
1419 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 65 We zoure humble liges and servitours, with all subjection and humilitee..recomend us to zoure roial Majestee.
1582 Bible (Rheims) Matt. xxiii. 11 He that is the greater of you, shal be your seruiteur [L. minister].
a1617 P. Baynes Comm. Epist. First Chapter Paul to Ephesians (1618) 7 We see in earthly seruiters, their glory is so much the greater, by how much their Lords and masters are in greater præeminencie.
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 13 To the performance of wch [office] the Levits were but as servitors & Deacons.
1866 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 126 The grandest..are thus but servitors of a grander than themselves.
1942 Life 5 Jan. 59/1 There are no governed in Washington, there are only governors, ex-governors, prospective governors and all their servitors, satellites, retainers and sycophants.
2000 Daily News (N.Y.) (Nexis) 16 June 59 His ways of exercising power are his legacy to the military and civilian servitors he put in position to rule the country.
c. figurative and in extended use.
ΚΠ
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 174 (MED) The holy goost is seruitour to siche and serueþ hem at þe mete of þat blessid body.
1534 (?a1500) Weavers' Pageant l. 128 in H. Craig Two Coventry Corpus Christi Plays (1931) 37 And soo this stare wasse a serveture And vnto iij kyngis a playn cundeture Vnto the mancion of a virgin pure.
?1570 Homelie against Disobedience iv. sig. Fiiiv Achitophel..for lacke of an hangman, a conuenient seruitour for suche a traytour, went and hanged vp him selfe.
1655 H. L'Estrange Reign King Charles 5 And though he was an universall Scholar, yet did he make other sciences..but drudges and serviteurs to Divinity.
1852 Mechanics' Mag. 20 Nov. 311/3 It [sc. the vessel] talks of tonnage and displacement, and makes believe to be a true servitor of solid commercial interests.
1932 E. C. Kirkland Hist. Amer. Econ. Life xi. 447 The rubber industry became a servitor to the automobile industry.
2002 Bristol Post (Nexis) 20 Nov. 10 The time has come for firebots—flameproof, compact mechanical servitors that can climb stairs with a hosepipe.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > military servant > [noun]
knighta1100
squirec1290
page?a1400
custrona1425
varlet1470
custrel1474
esquire1477
servitora1513
valet1591
stokaghea1599
calo1617
bedet1633
Tartar1747
batman1755
goujat1776
waiter1828
striker1867
beltman1869
doggy1909
dingbat1918
batwoman1941
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxxiv They agreed to puruey at theyr propre costs .v. C. men of Armys wyth a seruyture to eueryche Spere.
1838 E. B. Barrett Romaunt of Page in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 683/1 She..followed him she wed before, Disguised as his true servitor, To the very battle-place.
e. Used in the official and semi-official titles of particular functionaries, e.g. certain members of the British royal household, or of municipal bodies. Now rare (historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun]
official1340
officerc1375
pagec1385
servitor1527
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > official who executes orders of court > bailiff
beadlec1000
ridemanlOE
cacherela1325
outrider1332
bailiff1377
catchpolea1382
bailiec1386
officer?1387
sheriff's manc1400
attacher1440
messenger1482
tipped staffc1500
servitor1527
bailie-errant1528
processar1534
bum-bailiff1560
tipstaff1570
nut-hook1600
saffo1607
servera1612
bailiff-errant1612
bum-bailey1615
process servera1616
buckle-bosom1622
bumbee1653
exploiter1653
moar1656
bum1659
bummer1675
bumbail1696
bulldog1699
sheriff's officer1703
bum-trap1749
bound-bailiff1768
shelly-coata1774
body snatcher1778
lurcher1785
fool-finder1796
messenger1801
bugaboo1809
borough-bailiff1812
sheriff mair1812
speciality1815
grab1823
legalist1835
candy man1863
writter1882
sheriff1928
1527 Statutes Prohemium Iohannis Rastell (new ed.) f. cxliiv Yf any of the seruitours of the billis do the contrary they shalbe ponishid by emprisomment.
1597 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 417 A petition of the Creditors & Servitors of the Revels.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Ooo3v Servitours of bils, seeme to be such seruants or messengers of the marishall belonging to the kings bench, as were sent abroad with bils, or writs to summon men to that court, being now more ordinarily called Tip-stafs.
1658 P. Osborne Pract. Exchequer Court 48 All Officers, Ministers and Servitors of the Exchequer.
1671 T. Jordan London's Resurrect. 2 The two City-Marshals, riding each of them on Horse-back, with six Servitors to attend them, with Scarfs and Colours of the Companies.
2007 Rev. Eng. Stud. 58 47 Eventually, Dodmer successfully petitioned the queen in the name of the poor creditors and servitors of the Revels Office.
f. A person performing any of various ancillary functions in a church, such as an attendant or (in later use) a custodian. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > laity > lay functionaries > caretaker > [noun]
servitorc1600
verger1707
mansionary1711
c1600 in J. T. Fowler Rites of Durham (1903) 38 Alwaies provyded wth fresh water..by two of ye bell Ringers or servitors of ye church.
1779 H. Swinburne Trav. Spain xiv. 108 Burying under the ruins the greatest part of the chaplains, servitors, &c. belonging to the congregation.
1837 J. F. Cooper Gleanings in Europe II. xxxi. 213 Even the servitors of the church itself fancied it a work of no merit.
1897 O. Wilde De Profundis in Lett. (1962) 504 The ultimate survival of the Greek Chorus..is to be found in the servitor answering the priest at Mass.
1954 A. Hughes Early Medieval Music 185 He [sc. the unguentarius] is here a silent figure, no doubt at first merely a church servitor.
2005 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 11 Jan. 14 The last time I visited the church I was shown around by a well-informed church servitor.
2.
a. Used in formulaic expressions of polite deprecation, salutation, etc.; especially as your servitor (often as int.; sometimes elliptically as servitor). Cf. servant n. 8a, your servant at servant n. Phrases 2. Now rare (historical in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > conventional or deferential
your servitorc1405
beadsman1420
your servant1438
your (most) obedient servant (etc.)1543
rest1572
respects1631
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 477 Now maister quod this lord, I yow biseke No maister sire quod he, but seruytour Thogh I haue in scole that honour.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 618 I am a poore knyght and a servyture unto you and to all good knyghtes.
1562 O. Rowe in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. III. 339 Your Honors pore sarvytor.
1580 J. Hay Certain Demandes in T. G. Law Catholic Tractates (1901) 34 Yours most humble and obedient Seruiteure, Iohne Hay.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ ii. vi. 7 Your truly devoted Servitor, J. H.
1697 J. Vanbrugh Æsop: 2nd Pt. 16 There's a Tale for your Tale, Old Dad; and so—Serviteur. Exit.
1702 J. Vanbrugh False Friend i. 9 I like your Daughter very well; but for Marrying her—Serviteur.
a1777 S. Foote Trip to Calais (1778) iii. 79 Serviture, Monsieurs and Mesdames!—Why, what the deuce is the matter?
1820 Ld. Byron Let. 24 May (1977) VII. 105 He will tell you any thing you may wish to know about the place and your humble servitor.
1915 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. July 24/2 I beg for the thousandth time that you be content for this once to trust implicitly your humble servitor.
2014 A. McCabe Betrayed by his Kiss i. 10 Your servitor, Lorenzo de' Medici.
b. A devoted lover; = servant n. 8b. Somewhat rare after 16th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > male lover
servantc1405
specialc1425
servitorc1450
love-lad1586
young man1589
inamorato1592
swainc1592
gentleman friend1667
enamorado1677
spark1707
beau?1720
Johnny1726
man friend1736
feller1842
novio1843
soupirant1849
fella1874
man1874
fellow1878
square-pusher1890
stud1895
papa1896
lover mana1905
boyfriend1906
daddy1912
lover-boy1925
sheikh1925
sweetback1929
sweet man1942
older man1951
boyf1990
c1450 C. d'Orleans Poems (1941) 144 (MED) So haue ye wonne me for yowre serviture.
a1529 J. Skelton Pithy Pleasaunt & Profitable Wks. (1568) sig. Aaiij.v Yet is she fayne Uoyde of disdayn Me to retayne Her seruiture.
1568 Ballad against Evil Women in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 33 The lustyest lady that natur can devyiss Thot scho haif mony semely servitour Ȝit [etc.].
1861 D. G. Rossetti tr. G. Cavalcanti in Early Ital. Poets ii. 342 Till, turning, I beheld the servitor Of Lady Lagia.
1919 J. C. Mendenhall Aureate Terms ii. 19 He describes her beauty very fully, and tells..how he besought her to accept him as her servitor, lest he die.
2005 K. Sullivan Truth & Heretic v. 172 The lady in Bernart's canso who..repulses her servitor, indifferent toward his pleas and the suffering that has prompted them.
3. Scottish. A person occupying a subordinate position, or employed in a subordinate capacity; an assistant or apprentice.Formerly sometimes used spec. to refer to an assistant in a school, or a lawyer's apprentice or clerk; now current only at Edinburgh University, as a name for a teaching assistant, porter, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > [noun] > apprentice
apprentice1362
servitor1486
craftschild1561
flat cap1599
1486 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 30 Thome Gray, tailzour..and in likuiss, gif ony seruitor of his be fundin conuikit in sic faltis..he and thai sal be baneist out of the tone.
1512 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 275 To James Carwour takand woklie for him self and tua servituris with him at the kingis organis, xxviij s.
1588 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1888) V. 547/2 Patrik Glesfurde and Geo. McCartnay schervitouris to the said Wil., Thomas Home schervitour to Mr Jhone Prestoun advocat.
1601–2 Aberd. Acc. in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 129 Item, to Mr. George Mackie, servitor of the grammer school, for his panis in attending on the school, fra the deceis of the maister thairof till the new maisteris wer admittit..10 lib.
1716 in Trans. Hawick Archaeol. Soc. (1914) 25 John Roucastle, servitour to Walter Roucastel, carier.
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. xvii*. 272 The Baillie was in search of his apprentice (a servitor, as he was called Sixty Years since), Jock Scriever. View more context for this quotation
1899 Dundee Courier & Argus 12 Jan. 7/7 Almondbank loses one of its most respected residenters by the appointment of Mr John Harris as servitor in Sandeman's Perth Public Library.
1903 Scotsman 22 Apr. 8/7 He has since acted as a servitor in the Edinburgh University since 1890.
2012 @inneskeighren 5 Nov. in twitter.com (accessed 16 Aug. 2019) Saddened to hear of the death of Angus (Gus) Wares, former servitor and purveyor of strong coffee to Edinburgh's geographers.
4. A person, esp. a soldier, who has seen active service in war; (also occasionally) a person who has held a civil office in time of war. In later use only with reference to a group of individuals who were assigned land in Ulster in recognition of having served in a military or civil capacity during the Nine Years' War of 1593–1603 (now more fully as servitor of the Crown). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessor > [noun] > holder of crown lands in Ireland
servitor?1570
undertaker1586
society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > [noun]
thanec893
knightc1175
soldiera1300
osteyoura1450
servitor?1570
marshalman1575
soldado1577
soldat1591
manat1610
camper1631
soldade1634
buff coata1670
swad1708
militaire1746
red herring1789
coolie1803
swaddy1819
swad-gill1819
scarlet runnerc1864
guffy1882
leatherneck1890
pongo1890
hoster1892
swatty1901
file1903
squaddie1933
brown job1943
?1570 tr. P. Melanchthon in Whether Mortall Sinne to transgresse Ciuil Lawes 20 This preseruation asketh the helpe both of souldiers and other seruitours, not onely in warre, but also in peace.
1587 T. Saunders True Discr. Voiage Tripolie sig. Bijv A Spaniard called Sebastian, which had beene an old seruitor in Flanders.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 422 The..most venterous Mariners and servitours at sea.
1612 J. Davies Discouerie Causes Ireland 127 Our Norman Conqueror..gaue away to his seruitors, the Lands and possessions of such, as did oppose his first inuasion.
1640 J. Yorke Union of Honour 20 A valiant servitour in sundry wars beyond sea.
1662 R. S. Coll. Murthers & Massacres committed on Irish in Irel. 12 Mr. Thomas Talbot of Crawlstowne..a known servitor to the Crown,..having been Lieutenant of horse, to the Lord of Hoaths troop in the Battail of Kinsale, in Queen Eliz. Raigne.
1776 G. E. Howard Treat. Exchequer & Revenue Ireland I. iv. 32 The lands..were to be so assigned either to the old chieftains, or inhabitants, or servitors of the Crown, (who were the great officers of state, or captains and officers in the army) or else to English and Scotch undertakers.
1787 Universal Mag. July 37/1 The servitors of war, whose functions are the same with those of the knights.
1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. xviii. 740 Sir Arthur Chichester..advised that the lands should be assigned,..partly to servitors of the crown, as they were called.
1921 S. MacManus Story Irish Race xlviii. 405 English and Scotch Undertakers (as they were called), and Servitors of the Crown, scrambled for the fertile lands which were given to them in parcels of one thousand, one thousand five hundred, and two thousand acres.
2002 M. Nic Craith Plural Identities—Singular Narr. ii. 35 Further grants [of land] were made to English army officers serving in Ireland, called ‘servitors’, and to compliant Irish chiefs.
5. † b. Eton College. Any of a small group of pupils who had the duty of waiting on other more senior pupils at some meals (see quot. 1865). Obsolete (historical in later use).The term was earlier (see e.g. quot. 1796) used at Eton to refer specifically to pupils who acted as assistants or attendants in the ceremony of Montem (see Montem n.), but this is simply a contextual use of sense 1.
a. Oxford University. In certain colleges: a member of a low-status category of students who received their lodging and most of their board free, and were not required to pay for their tuition. Now historical.Originally the servitors were required to act as servants to the fellows of a college, and performed some duties (e.g. serving at table) for students of higher status, and although the requirement to perform menial services gradually fell into disuse, they continued to be regarded as the social inferiors of other undergraduates. In most of the colleges the endowments originally used to support servitorships were subsequently reallocated to the funding of exhibitions (exhibition n. 3b); the use of the term continued longest at Christ Church, which formally abandoned the category in 1867.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > student receiving allowance
sizer1303
demya1486
postmaster1552
portionist1562
sizar1588
subsister?1589
subsizara1592
servitor1626
taberdar1648
semi-commoner1691
1626 T. Crosfield Diary 17 June (1935) 4 The same day there were elected..3 Fellowes..4 Masters..6 Tabitors 6 poore children 1 Servitour.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 305 Whether he was at his first coming a Servitour, or Scholar, I know not.
1731 Gentleman's Mag. 1 118 The Bishop, in this case, must take some raw young Man, perhaps a Servitor in a College.
1787 J. Hawkins Life Johnson 12 It was the practice in his time, for a servitor, by order of the master, to go round to the rooms of the young men, and knocking at the door, to enquire if they were within, and if no answer was returned, to report them absent.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Bk. Snobs xiii. 51 The unlucky boys who have no tassels to their caps, are called sizers—servitors at Oxford.
1907 ‘Q’ Poison Island iv. 24 Mr. Stimcoe..had received his education as a ‘querister’ at Winchester (and afterwards as a ‘servitor’ at Pembroke College, Oxford).
1998 J. Dougill Oxf. in Eng. Lit. ii. 40 The plot [of Elizabeth Goudge's novel Towers in the Mist] centres around the faithful Faithful, an earnest servitor at Christ Church who..is willing to sacrifice all for the love of learning.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > types of pupil at Eton
oppidan1557
servitor1819
sextile1821
dry-bob1844
tug1864
tug-mutton1864
wet bob1865
non-nant1869
1796 Gen. Evening Post 17 May Their Captain, Mr. Whitfield, being the senior scholar, led the van... Messrs. Polehampton and Halifax, with twelve Servitors, acted as Salt-Bearers.]
1819 ‘A Late Scholar’ Eton Coll. 48 The menial offices..are now in some measure, contrary to the Statutes, imposed upon the Scholars, as Servitors, and waiting at the Fellows' table in hall.
1865 W. L. Collins Etoniana viii. 138 At the college dinner three lower boys (called servitors) wait to hand the plates and pour out beer; their dinner is half an hour later, with the ‘upper servitor’—one of the higher boys, who superintends the hall economy.
1909 E. D. Stone in S. R. Stone Eton 147 At dinner, the Sixth Form were waited on by three servitors from among the lower boys.
6. Glass-blowing.† a. An assistant to a master workman. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > glass-maker > [noun] > assistant
servitor1662
1662 C. Merrett in tr. A. Neri Art of Glass App. 246 The Servitor when the Metall [i.e. molten glass] is sufficiently refined, puts his hollow Iron into the pot, and turning it about, takes out enough for the vessel or work 'tis intended for.
1745 D. De Coetlogon Universal Hist. Arts & Sci. II. 3/2 When the Master has finished with a Number of them, a Servitor takes them with an Iron Fork, and speedily places them in the Tower or Leer, to anneal and harden.
b. spec. The senior assistant to the chief craftsman in a ‘chair’ (see chair n.1 1c) or team. Cf. servitary n. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > glass-maker > [noun] > team > middle man
servitor1824
servitary1883
1824 Newcastle Courant 9 Oct. 1/1 (advt.) To Flint Glass-Makers. Wanted, for a Second Castor Place Chair, a Workman, Servitor, and Foot Maker.
1887 Rep. Patent Cases IV. 273 Shaw was his servitor—the servitor being the man who made the feet of the wine glasses.
1972 B. Norman Engraving & decorating Glass (1987) 33 This method of work has not changed over the centuries. The team consists of a master craftsman (the gaffer), a servitor.., a footmaker, and a boy.
2017 @chrisjblade 6 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 8 Aug. 2019) Steve, our glass Servitor, puts stems and feet on all our luxury wine glasses.
Compounds
With other nouns, with the sense ‘that is a servitor’ (chiefly in sense 5a).
ΚΠ
1583 in G. P. McNeill Exchequer Rolls Scotl. (1901) XXI. 559 James Bonar, servitour clerk of the schirefdome of Forfair.
1683 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 510 Between the hours of 8 and 9 of the clock, six young undergraduate servitor scholars came into the Magpy ale-house.
1836 tr. F. Schiller Wallenstein's Camp in Dublin Univ. Mag. Dec. 737 Being at College in Altorf..He killed but one lad, his servitor-student.
1912 E. Staley Lords & Ladies of Ital. Lakes v. 270 At Piacenza..was a school of servitor boys.
2015 M. Zack in K. Williams & M. J. Ostwald Archit. & Math. Antiq. to Future II. lxiv. 258 Hooke entered Oxford in 1653 as a ‘servitor’ student with a choral scholarship.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.a1382