the.com/servant
Someone paid to want what you want, convincingly enough that you forget it's a transaction.
means A person employed to perform duties or tasks for another, especially in a household.
from From Old French 'servant', the present participle of 'servir' (to serve), rooted in Latin 'servire' — itself tied to 'servus', meaning slave. The word carries that ancestry quietly: before it meant hired help, it meant someone bound, not employed. English softened it over centuries from bondage toward wages, though the root never quite lets go of its original meaning of being at another's disposal.
- etymology
- from Latin servire, to be a slave
- victorian households
- could employ over 20 staff ranks
- modern echo
- civil servant, still technically serving the public
- power flip
- butlers often outranked guests in household knowledge