Word: service Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ser-der.? Proto-Italic *serwos Latin servus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin -itia Latin servitiumbor. Old French servisebor. Old English serfis Middle English servise English service From Middle English servise, from Old English serfis, from Old French servise (French service), from the verb servir, from Latin servitium (compare Portuguese serviço, Italian servizio, Norman sèrvice, Spanish servicio), from servus (“servant; serf; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo-s (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Displaced native Old English þeġnung. Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːvɪs/, [ˈsɜːvɪs], /ˈsɝvɪs/, [ˈsɝvɪs] 1. An act of being of assistance to someone. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: I say I did him a service by ending our relationship – now he can freely pursue his career. Example: The Parliament for ever cries more money, / The service of the state demands more money. / Just heaven! of what service is the state? 2. The state of being subordinate to or employed by an individual or group. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Lancelot was at the service of King Arthur. Example: The lesser griefs that may be said, / ⁠That breathe a thousand tender vows, / ⁠Are but as servants in a house / Where lies the master newly dead; / Who speak their feeling as it is, / ⁠And weep the fulness from the mind: / ⁠‘It will be hard’ they say ‘to find / Another service such as this.’ 3. Work as a member of the military. Labels: uncountable Example: Thank you for your service. 4. The military. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: the service Example: I did three years in the service before coming here. 5. The practice of providing assistance as economic activity. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Hair care is a service industry. Example: The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",[...]and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. 6. Synonym of utility (“commodity provided on a continuous basis by a physical infrastructure network, such as electricity, water supply or sewerage”). Labels: countable, uncountable 7. A department in a company, organization, or institution. Labels: countable, uncountable 8. A function that is provided by one program or machine for another. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: This machine provides the name service for the LAN. 9. A set of dishes or utensils. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: She brought out the silver tea service. Example: When their lavish fiestas ended they threw the silver service and even golden vessels from their balconies to be picked up by lucky passersby. 10. The act of initially starting, or serving, the ball in play in tennis, volleyball, and other games. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The player had four service faults in the set. 11. A religious rite or ritual. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands. Example: The funerary service was touching. 12. The serving, or delivery, of a summons or writ. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He Suſpends on theſe Reaſons, that Thomas Rue had granted a general Diſcharge to Adam Muſhet, who was his Conjunct, and correus debendi, after the alleadged Service, which Diſcharged Muſhet, and conſequently Houstoun his Partner. Example: The service happened yesterday. 13. A taxi shared among unrelated passengers, each of whom pays part of the fare; often, it has a fixed route between cities. Labels: Israel, also, countable, uncountable 14. A musical composition for use in churches. Labels: countable, uncountable 15. Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed. Labels: countable, obsolete, uncountable Example: Pray, do my service to his majesty. 16. The materials used for serving a rope, etc., such as spun yarn and small lines. Labels: countable, uncountable 17. Access to resources such as hotel rooms and Web-based videos without transfer of the resources' ownership. Labels: countable, uncountable