# servir
## Aragonese
### Etymology

Inherited from Navarro-Aragonese servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /seɾˈbi(ɾ)/
* Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
* Syllabification: ser‧vir

### Verb

servir
* to serve
* to be useful, to be good for

#### Derived terms

* fer servir

#### Related terms

* servidor
* siervo

### References

* Diccionario ortografico de l'aragonés (Seguntes la PO de l'EFA)

## Asturian
### Etymology

From Latin servīre.

### Verb

servir
* to serve

#### Related terms

* siervu

## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [sərˈbi]
* IPA: (Balearic) [sərˈvi]
* IPA: (Valencia) [seɾˈviɾ]
* Audio (Barcelona):(file)
* Rhymes: -i(ɾ)
* Homophone: serví

### Verb

servir (first-person singular present serveixo, first-person singular preterite serví, past participle servit)
* to serve
* to be useful, to be good for
** 2019 September 18, Lluís Foix, “Negativisme desacomplexat”, in La Vanguardia‎:La veracitat que s’atorga a les enquestes d’opinió pot persuadir molta gent que la política i els polítics ja no serveixen per canviar les coses.The veracity granted to opinion polls can persuade many people that politics and politicians are no good anymore for changing things.

#### Derived terms

* fer servir

#### Related terms

* serf
* servent
* servidor
* serviment

### References

* “servir” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “servir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “servir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “servir” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle French servir, from Old French servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /sɛʁ.viʁ/
* audio; “se servir de”:(file)

### Verb

servir
* to serve (to help in a shop; to bring a meal to someone)
    Je suis allée en France avec ma mère l’année dernière et le serveur nous a servi des escargots!I went to France last year with my mother and the waiter served us escargots!
    On vous a servie, madame?Have you been helped, madam?
* to be used for
* (intransitive) to be useful, to be of use, come in handy [with à ‘to/for someone’]
* (sports) to serve (start a point with service)
* (sports) to set up (pass to, in order to give a scoring chance)
* (reflexive) to help oneself, to serve oneself
* (reflexive) to use, make use [with de ‘of something’]

#### Conjugation

This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) sers and (il) sert in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *servis and *servit (as in the past historic).
This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) sers and (il) sert in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *servis and *servit (as in the past historic).
This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) sers and (il) sert in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *servis and *servit (as in the past historic).

#### Derived terms

* on n’est jamais mieux servi que par soi-même
* pour vous servir
* premier arrivé, premier servi
* rien ne sert de courir, il faut partir à point

#### Related terms

* serf
* sergent
* servage
* servant
* serveur
* service
* servile
* serviteur
* servitude

#### Descendants

* → German: servieren
** Norwegian Bokmål: servere
* Haitian Creole: sèvi

### Further reading

* “servir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Galician
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [seɾˈβiɾ], [sɪɾˈβiɾ]

### Verb

servir (first-person singular present sirvo, third-person singular present serve, first-person singular preterite servín, past participle servido)
* (intransitive) to serve
* (intransitive) to be useful or fitting
    Synonym: valer
* (transitive) to serve

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “servir”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “servir”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “servir”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “servir”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “servir”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Interlingua
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /serˈvir/

### Verb

servir
* to serve

#### Conjugation

| infinitive | infinitive | servir | servir |
| participle | participle | present | perfect |
| participle | participle | serviente | servite |
| active | | simple | perfect |
| active | present | servi | ha servite |
| active | past | serviva | habeva servite |
| active | future | servira | habera servite |
| active | conditional | servirea | haberea servite |
| active | imperative | servi | |
| passive | | simple | perfect |
| passive | present | es servite | ha essite servite |
| passive | past | esseva servite | habeva essite servite |
| passive | future | essera servite | habera essite servite |
| passive | conditional | esserea servite | haberea essite servite |
| passive | imperative | sia servite | |

## Italian
### Verb

servir (apocopated)
* Apocopic form of servire

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French servir, from Latin servīre.

### Verb

servir
* to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

#### Descendants

* → English: serve
* French: servir
** German: servieren
*** Norwegian Bokmål: servere

## Occitan
### Etymology

From Old Occitan servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /səɾˈβi/
* Audio:(file)

### Verb

servir
* to serve
* to be useful

#### Conjugation

| | | simple | simple | simple | compound | compound | compound |
| infinitive | infinitive | servir | servir | servir | aver servit | aver servit | aver servit |
| past participle | past participle | servit | servit | servit | — | — | — |
| gerund | gerund | servissent | servissent | servissent | avent servit | avent servit | avent servit |
| person | person | singular | singular | singular | plural | plural | plural |
| person | person | first | second | third | first | second | third |
| indicative | | ieu | tu | el | nosautres | vosautres | eles |
| indicative | present | servissi | servisses | servís | servissèm | servissètz | servisson |
| indicative | imperfect | servissiái | servissiás | servissiá | servissiam | servissiatz | servissián |
| indicative | preterite | serviguèri | serviguères | serviguèt | serviguèrem | serviguèretz | serviguèron |
| indicative | future | servirai | serviràs | servirà | servirem | serviretz | serviràn |
| indicative | conditional | serviriái | serviriás | serviriá | serviriam | serviriatz | servirián |
| indicative | conditional 2nd form$^1$ | serviguèra | serviguèras | serviguèra | servigueram | servigueratz | serviguèran |
| compound tenses | present perfect | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle | use the present tense of aver plus the past participle |
| compound tenses | pluperfect | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect tense of aver plus the past participle |
| compound tenses | past anterior | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle | use the preterite tense of aver plus the past participle |
| compound tenses | future perfect | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle | use the future tense of aver plus the past participle |
| compound tenses | conditional perfect | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle | use the conditional tense of aver plus the past participle |
| subjunctive | | que ieu | que tu | que el | que nosautres | que vosautres | que eles |
| subjunctive | present | servisca | serviscas | servisca | serviscam | serviscatz | serviscan |
| subjunctive | imperfect | serviguèsse | serviguèsses | serviguèsse | serviguèssem | serviguèssetz | serviguèsson |
| compound tenses | past | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the present subjunctive of aver plus the past participle |
| compound tenses | pluperfect | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle | use the imperfect subjunctive of aver plus the past participle |
| imperative | imperative | — | tu | — | nosautres | vosautres | — |
| imperative | imperative | | servís | | serviscam | servissetz | $^1$Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects |

#### Related terms

* servidor

## Old French
### Etymology

From Latin servīre.

### Verb

servir
* to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

#### Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

#### Related terms

* aservir
* deservir
* desservir
* messervir
* serf
* serjant
* servise

#### Descendants

* Middle French: servir
** → English: serve
** French: servir
*** German: servieren
**** Norwegian Bokmål: servere
* Walloon: siervi

## Old Galician-Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin servīre.

### Noun

servir
* (transitive) to serve (to be a servant for)
* (transitive) to serve (to obey and worship)
* (transitive) to court (to try to win a commitment to marry from)
* (reflexive) to make use [with de ‘of something’]
    Synonym: usar

#### Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

#### Descendants

* Fala: servil
* Galician: servir
* Portuguese: servir
** → Hunsrik: sërviere

### References

* Manuel Ferreiro (2014–2025) “servir”, in Universo Cantigas. Edición crítica da poesía medieval galego-portuguesa (in Galician), A Coruña: UDC, →ISSN
* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “servir”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “servi”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

## Old Occitan
### Etymology

From Latin servīre.

### Verb

servir
* to serve (act as a servant or a vassal)

#### Descendants

* Occitan: servir

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese servir, from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /seʁˈvi(ʁ)/ [seɦˈvi(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /seʁˈvi(ʁ)/ [seɦˈvi(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /seɾˈvi(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /seʁˈvi(ʁ)/ [seʁˈvi(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /seɻˈvi(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /sɨɾˈviɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /sɨɾˈviɾ/
** (Northern Portugal) IPA: /sɨɾˈbiɾ/ [sɨɾˈβiɾ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /sɨɾˈvi.ɾi/
* Audio (Northern Portugal):(file)
* Audio (Portugal):(file)
* Hyphenation: ser‧vir

### Verb

servir (first-person singular present sirvo, third-person singular present serve, first-person singular preterite servi, past participle servido)
* (transitive) to serve (to work as a servant for someone)
* (religion, transitive) to serve (to worship a god)
* (transitive) to serve (to give out or place down food or drink)
* (intransitive) to serve (to be part of an armed force) [with em ‘in an organization, especially a military one’]
    Servi dois anos na Legião Estrangeira. ― I served for two years in the Foreign Legion.
* (intransitive) to suffice; to do (to be good enough for a task)
    Esse martelo é ruim mas serve. ― This hammer is bad but it will do.
* (intransitive) to be for (to have as its purpose or utility) [with para (+ subject pronoun (optional) with personal infinitive) ‘for someone to do something’]
    Martelos servem para as pessoas baterem pregos. ― Hammers are for people to hit nails with.

#### Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:servir.

#### Related terms

* servente
* serviço
* servo

#### Descendants

* → Hunsrik: sërviere

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin servīre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /seɾˈbiɾ/ [seɾˈβ̞iɾ]
* Rhymes: -iɾ
* Syllabification: ser‧vir

### Verb

servir (first-person singular present sirvo, first-person singular preterite serví, past participle servido)
* (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to be a servant or worker; to render service)
    Es una empresa que sirve a los discapacitados.It's a business that serves the disabled.
* (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to be a servant for; to work for)
* (intransitive) to be of use, to be good for
    Hace diez años, la traducción automática no servía.Ten years ago, automated translation was no good.
    Este cuchillo sirve para cortar el pan.This knife is good for cutting bread.
* (intransitive) to serve (to usefully take the place of something else)
    sirve como recordatorio ― serves as a reminder
** 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 42:El Chonchón es un animal mítico que tiene la figura de una cabeza humana; las orejas, que son extremadamente grandes, le sirven de alas para volar en las noches obscuras.(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* (intransitive) to serve (to be in military service)
* (intransitive, transitive) to serve (to set down (food or drink) on the table to be eaten)
    El camarero nos sirvió la comida de otra mesa.The waiter served us another table's food.
* (intransitive, sports) to serve (to lead off with the first delivery over the net in tennis, volleyball, ping pong, badminton, etc.)
    Synonym: sacar
* (reflexive) to help oneself to (to take freely) [with de ‘something’]

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* bien servido
* la venganza es un plato que se sirve frío
* lo comido por lo servido
* servir al rey
* servir concha
* servir coño
* servir de estropajo
* servir la mesa
* servir para demostrar (“to go to show”)

#### Related terms

* sargento
* servible
* servicentro
* servicio
* servidor
* servidumbre
* servil
* siervo
* sirviente

### Further reading

* “servir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Venetan
### Etymology

From Latin servīre. Compare Italian servire.

### Verb

servir
* (transitive, intransitive) to serve

#### Conjugation

* Venetan conjugation varies from one region to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.