▪ I. † serve, n.1 Obs. rare.
[OE. syrfe wk. fem.:—prehistoric *surƀjōn-, a. popular L. *sorbea, f. sorb-us service n.2]
1. = service n.2
| 940 in Birch Cartul. Sax. II. 490 Of wulfa leaᵹe to cawel dene. of cawel dene to þære syrfan. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 227 In Iane, in ffeueryeer and Marche in coold Erthe, October and Nouember in hoot Erthe, is settyng of seruys nobul hold. Ibid. iii. 877 In serue & peche, in plane & populer, In wilous may this melis graffid be. |
2. The fruit of the service-tree.
| 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. i. 92 Nuts, Medlers, Serues, &c. |
▪ II. serve, n.2
(sɜːv)
[f. serve v.1]
† 1. ? Service, adoration. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1440 Rel. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 73 Þou gyffe me grace the serue to paye. |
2. Tennis. An act of serving, a service.
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 264/2 (Tennis) Serve, is the first casting out of the Ball upon the Pent-House, for him on the contrary side to strike at. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 17 Mar. 3/1 This is the serve, and to be a good one it has to come off the wall into the right court. The serve is then taken by one of the opposing party. 1909 Ibid. 7 Aug. 2/1 He is the most difficult of all the bowlers who have applied to cricket the American serve at tennis. |
3. In fig. phr. to give (someone) a serve: to deal roughly with; to criticize or reprimand sharply. Austral. slang.
| 1974 Stackpole & Trengrove Not just for Openers 104, I continued to give Snow a bit of a serve. 1977 Australian 1 June 3 He was glad to be leaving and he would be giving the country a serve in an unnamed English newspaper if it was willing to pay enough for his views. 1980 Daily Tel. 25 June 17/3 He debunks the fashionable diets but also criticises doctors for not speaking out about bad eating habits. ‘I give them a little serve,’ he said, using an Australian expression. |
Sense 3 in Dict. becomes 4. Add: 3. A serving or helping of food. colloq.
| 1920 A. Ashford True Hist. Leslie Woodcock in Daisy Ashford: her Bk. ix. 38 ‘Where is that child’ said Mr. Earlsdown after having 3 serves of the bacon. 1986 Sun (Melbourne) (Travel Suppl.) 10 Jan. 2/4 The Time Out editors advise that many of the recommended restaurants offer free seconds if you can scoff all the generous first serves. |
▪ III. † serve, n.3 Obs. rare—1.
[a. F. serve (:—L. serva), fem. of serf. serf.]
A female slave.
| 1480 Caxton Ovid's Met. xi. v, And helde her as hys serve & paramour. |
▪ IV. serve, v.1
(sɜːv)
Forms: α. 2–3 (Ormin) serrfenn, serrvenn, 3 servie, sarvi, 3–4 servi, 2–5 serven, 3–5 servy, 3–6 serf, 3–5, 7 serfe, 3, 5–9 (now vulgar) sarve, 4 servin, 4–7 Sc. serwe, 5 cervyn, servyn(ne, 5–6 Sc. serff, (6 Sc. scherve, 7 searve, searfe, serv), 2– serve. β. 3 sarevy, 5 seryf(f, -iff, serof, serryff, sarif, -yf, sarofe. γ. Sc. and dial. 5, 6, 8 ser, 5–6, 9 sar, 5, 8– sair; 9 sarrow, sarra (see Eng. Dial. Dict.).
[a. OF. (and F.) serv-ir:—L. servīre to be a servant or slave, to serve, f. serv-us slave, servant. Cf. Pr. servir, sirvir, Sp., Pg. servir, It. servire.
In Latin the verb was intransitive, often followed by a dative. In Fr. (as other Rom. langs.) the intransitive use has remained, but by the side of it there has been from an early period a transitive use, resulting from the conversion of the indirect into a direct object. In ME. both uses were common; in mod.Eng. the vb. is felt as primarily transitive, the intransitive senses which survive having blended with the absolute uses.]
I. To be a servant (to), render service (to).
1. a. intr. To be a servant; to perform the duties of a servant.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 835 Þe seruyng man, þat seruyþ yn þe ȝere. 1338 ― Chron. (1810) 33 Whilom he serued in his panterie. c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (prose) xxxv. 26 Þe vassels þat tay serue wid [orig. vasa ministerii sui]. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 270 She is her Masters maid, and serues for wages. c 1655 Milton Sonn., ‘When I consider’, They also serve who only stand and waite. 1667 ― P.L. i. 263 Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n. 1664 R. Codrington Prov. in Youths Behav. ii. 200 He that serves well needs not fear to ask his wages. 1729 Swift Direct. Serv., Cook (1745) 37 Whether you serve in Town or Country. 1764 Burn Poor Laws 215 From the highest subject to the lowest, no man chuses to serve for nothing. 1800 Wordsw. Farmer Tilsbury Vale 50 All trades, as need was, did old Adam assume,—Served as stable-boy, errand-boy, porter, and groom. 1859 Tennyson Enid 453 The men who served About my person. 1894 Baring-Gould Deserts S. France II. 246 He served some time as a waiter in an eating-house. |
† b. To be a slave or bondman; to be in bondage; to labour as a bondman. Also with cognate object. (A latinism.) Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. xiv. 3 Thin harde seruage, that thou beforn seruedist. 1382 ― Gal. iv. 3 So and we, whanne we weren litile, weren seruynge [1388 we serueden] vndir the elementis of the world. 1611 Bible Exod. i. 13 The Egyptians made the children of Israel to serue with rigour. Ibid., Ezek. xxix. 18 Nebuchad-rezzar..caused his armie to serue a great seruice against Tyrus. 1671 Milton P.R. iii. 378–9 Serving as of old Thir Fathers in the land of Egypt serv'd. |
2. a. To go through or perform a term of service under a master. Usu. with advb. accus. denoting the period, as to serve one's time, to serve an apprenticeship (to a trade, etc.). Also with out.
| [1382 Wyclif Gen. xxix. 20 Thanne Jacob serued for Rachel seuen ȝeer.] 1562 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 293 He served his apprentycehode. 1562–3 Act 5 Eliz. c. 4 §21 To serve as Apprentice..to any suche Arte Misterye or Manuell Occupacion. c 1570 Saparton's Alarum in B. L. Ball. & Broadsides (1867) 118 If euer warlike wighte Hath serued his time in vaine. 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. vi. 187 (Qo.) Serue by indenture to the common hang-man. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 110 Those who had served out their time [sc. as soldiers]. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. iv, Lewis Baboon had taken up the Trade of Clothier and Draper, without serving his Time, or purchasing his Freedom. 1835 App. Munic. Corpor. Rep. iii. 1667 A person bound to a free mariner..for seven years, and having served during that period. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lvii, Having served his full time in India..he was free to come home and stay with a good pension. 1863 Rep. Sea Fisheries Comm. (1865) II. 418/1, I served my time to trawling. |
b. fig.
| 1553 R. Ascham in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 16 Som reason I have, to be made free and jorneyman in lernyng, whan I have allready served out three prentyships at Cambrige. 1593 Shakes. Rich II, i. iii. 271 (Qo.) Must I not serue a long apprentishood To forreine passages. 1603 Dekker, etc. Patient Grissill iv. ii. 2132 When a quarrell enters into a trade, it serues seauen yeares before it be free. 1648 [see prenticehood]. 1685 Dryden Albion & Alb. Pref. (b) 2 As if I had not serv'd out my time in Poetry, but was bound 'Prentice to some doggrel Rhymer. 1693 Hum. Town 107 Some old nonsensical Translations which have serv'd a Patriarch's age to the Library of Moore-fields. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. iv. iii, Or shall we say: Insurrection has now served its Apprenticeship. |
c. trans. To go through, work out (a term of imprisonment, a penal sentence). Also with out. Also ellipt. to serve time and simply to serve.
| 1873 Greenwood In Strange Comp. 57 One lad..laid claim to have ‘served’ both in Maidstone gaol and the prison at Wandsworth. Ibid. 288 The virago who has just ‘served’ three months for a murderous assault. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 756/2 The obligation to return to a convict prison to serve out the unexpired term of penal servitude. 1886 Science 24 Sept. 287 Every unfortunate or miscreant who has once ‘served time’. |
3. a. To be a servant to; to work for, be employed in the personal service of (a master or mistress).
In the early instances the obj. may possibly be dat.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 422 Helpeð mid ower owune swinke,..to schruden ou suluen and þeo þet ou serueð. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1670 Ic sal, for rachel, Seruen ðe seuene winter wel. c 1325 Chron. Eng. 518 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 291 That on partie he [Alfred] yef hem That in ys court serveden hym. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 115 For sum tyme I Seruede Simme atte noke, And was his pliht prentys. 1584 Cogan Haven Health ii. 17 Plautus..was faine for his liuing to serue a baker. 1601 Shakes. All's Well iii. v. 54 A Gentleman that serues the Count. 1611 Bible Exod. xxi. 6 His master shall boare his eare through with an aule, and he shall serue him for euer. 1661 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 6 Gervise Lucas served George Earle of Rutland as gentleman of his horse some yeares. 1740 ? De Foe Mrs. Chr. Davies (1741) 10 Richard Welsh, a young Fellow who had served my Aunt. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxxvii, My two brethren, who serve the rich Rabbi. 1828 J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1856 II. 49 That is the lot o' the puirest herd callant, wha, ha'in na pawrents, is glad to sair a hard master, withooten ony wage. |
b. fig. To be the slave of (sin, one's lower nature, etc.). Obs. or arch.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 3 It is the cuppe whom he serveth. c 1400 Pety Job in 26 Pol. Poems 127, I seruyd syn, and was hys knaue. 1535 Coverdale Tit. iii. 3 For we oure selues also were..seruynge lustes [1382 Wycl. seruynge to desyris]. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 135 Suche persones as serven onely the throte & the bealye. |
c. rarely of a beast made to work for his master.
| 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccviii. 178 A Certain Ass that serv'd a Gard'ner. |
d. To work for (a body of persons, a company) as a paid servant.
| 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 8 His retirement from public duty on account of failing health..called forth..a deserved tribute of acknowledgment from those whom he had long faithfully and ably served. 1876 Gladstone Glean. (1879) II. 296 Another term of four years brought him back, the least Indian..of all the civilians who had ever served the Company. |
4. a. To attend upon (as a servant does); to wait upon, minister to the comfort of.
| c 1250 Owl & N. 1579 Þat gode wif..serueþ [Jesus MS. sarueþ] him to bedde & to borde mid faire dede & faire worde. c 1275 Passion our Lord 40 in O.E. Misc. 38 And þer comen engles hym to seruy. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 978 (Hausknecht), Ehc moretid þer moste come Two maidenes ut of hire bure, To serven him up in þe ture. a 1300 Cursor M. 20120 To fere and seke ai did scho bote, And serued taim till hand and fote. c 1450 Merlin xiv. 225 Whan the kynges doughter hadde serued the thre kynges, than she serued hir fader. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 251 He presently fell sicke, and not able to serve himselfe, could not..doe me any service. 1794 [see granny 2]. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. iii, His health was still shattered; and he took a lodging near to his mistresses, at Kensington, glad enough to be served by them. 1859 Tennyson Enid 379 The good house..Endures not that her guest should serve himself. |
| β c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 80 What is he þis at syttis att supper & I holde candell vnto and dure such serves? what am I þat I sulde seryff hym þis? c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4347 All bot he and his wyfe, And a seruand þaim to sarofe. |
b. to be (well or ill) served. (Cf. branch V.)
| 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 32 The common price of the Bagnio, is two Aspres to the Master; and they who would be well served, give as much to the Man. 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 283 Never were people worse served by the post, than we are in this country. 1858 Longfellow M. Standish i, Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage. 1869 L. M. Alcott Gd. Wives i, The mistress of a house, however splendid, should know how work ought to be done, if she wishes to be well and honestly served. |
5. To assist (a priest) at (or † to) mass as server. Also absol., to act as server. Also to serve mass (= F. servir la messe).
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vi. 12 ‘Canstow seruen,’ he seide ‘oþer syngen in a churche.’ 1595 in J. H. Pollen Acts Eng. Martyrs vi. (1892) 108 It was proved he had served a priest to Mass some three days before this happened. 1667 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. III. 62 There was nothing more gratefull vnto him then to serue Masse, nor any more welcome to the Priest he serued. 1706 J. Stevens Sp. Dict., Missario, or Missero, a Boy that serves at Mass. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 153 [The] Acolyth, whose Function is to serve at Mass. 1844 A. P. de Lisle in E. Purcell Life (1900) I. 122 Arno and Everard served the Mass. 1889 Pater G. de Latour (1896) 39 At the great ecclesiastical seasons..Gaston and his fellows ‘served’ Monseigneur. |
6. a. (In the earliest use, with obj. in dative.) To be (officially) a servant of (God, a heathen deity); to take official part in the worship of.
| c 1175 in Assmann Ags. Hom. 118/2 He sealde..oðerne del þæm þe gode ane seruedæn [OE. orig. þeowodon]. c 1200 Ormin 615 Annd illc an hird wel wisste inoh Whillc lott badd hise prestess I Godess temmple serrfenn Godd. 1819 Shelley Cenci ii. ii. 76 A priest who has forsworn the God he serves. |
† b. intr. To officiate as a minister of God, to perform divine service. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 506 Þatt illc an shollde witenn wel Whillc lott himm shollde reȝȝsenn, To cumenn inntill Ȝerrsalæm, To serrvenn i þe temmple. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3634 Aaron bissop, oðere of ðat kin, Sette he hem for to seruen ðor-in. a 1330 Rouland & V. 358 Wiþ an hundred chanouns & her priour,..For to serui þere. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 346 Ȝif Apostlis weren now alyve, and sawen þus preestis serve in þe Chirche. 1435 in Laing Charters (1899) 30 [Granting to the] Lady Awter off the parisshe kyrk of North Berwyk and tyll Schir Androw Ferour thare serwand. 1537 [see clerk n. 2]. 1568 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 74 Being found qualifiit to serf and mak ministratioun in the kirk of God. 1691 Galliæ Notitia 68 There are eight Chaplains that serve quarterly..Who are to say every day (excepting the High-Mass dayes) a low Mass before the King. |
7. † a. trans. To worship (God, a deity) with religious rites; to offer praise and prayer to, give divine honour to. Obs.
| a 1300 X Commandm. 26 in E.E.P. (1862) 16 Sundai wel þat ȝe holde, to serue god þilk dai wis boþe ȝung and eke olde. 1340 Ayenb. 225 Ine holy stede..þet byeþ apropred uor god to bidde and hym seruy. c 1450 Mirk's Festial ii. 6 Þe whech dey ȝe schull come to þe chyrch to serue God, and forto worschip the holy apostoll for þe speciall uertues þat he hade. 1577 Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 8 First serud on knees, the Maiestie deuine. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxiii. (1617) 377 The Spirits which were serued in Stockes and Images..were vncleane and mischieuous Spirits. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 17 Oct. 1686, Shewing the costome of the primitive Saints in serving God with Hymns. 1702 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) V. 221, 500 protestants in Languedock met in a wood to serve God. |
b. To render habitual obedience to, to do the will of (God, a heathen deity, Satan).
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Hu me sulde godalmihti serue and his wille wurche in orðe. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 43 Ðo ðe ðese swikele woreld habbeð forlaten And seruið ure drihten on religiun. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1080–1 Þas þat þe world serves and loves, Serves þe devel. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 632 Ȝe..serue sory idolus þat ȝou in sinne brynge. c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (prose) Prol. 1 To seryf our lorde Iesu criste. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love i. v. 10 God with-outen doutte we lufe noȝt, forsoth hym not sarifand. 1490 Caxton Eneydos iv. 19, I swere to the, by the goddis whom thou seruest. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxlviii. 14 The children of Israel, euen the people that serueth him. 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. i. lvi. (1890) II. 89 Now make accompt of your pilgrimage here, and serue no more such Sainctes. 1597 in Spalding Club Misc. (1841) I. 157 The Devill thy maister, quhome thow seruis. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. v. 130 Sure, one of you do's not serue heauen well, that you are so cross'd. c 1655 Milton Sonnet, ‘When I consider’ 11 Who best Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best. 1810 S. Green Reformist I. 186, I did not think that London was yet such a sink of depravity, as to openly serve God and Satan on the same day. 1850–1 Longfellow Gold. Leg. ii, For a whole century Had he been there, Serving God in prayer. |
8. a. To render obedience and service to, to fulfil one's duty to (a feudal superior, a sovereign).
| c 1275 Lay. 4855 He saruede [earlier version herde] þan kinge mid halle his mihte. 13.. Guy Warw. 123 His lord he serued treweliche In al þing manschipeliche. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 203 Hit bicomeþ For a kyng..To ȝiue meede to men þat mekeliche him seruen. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 397 We serff a lord; thir fysche sall till him gang. 1528 Roy Rede me (Arb.) 92 To serve the kynge in warre and peace. 1611 Bible Gen. xiv. 4 Twelue yeeres they serued Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth yeere they rebelled. 1765 H. Walpole in Lett. C'tess Suffolk (1824) II. 299 Serving a tyrant, who does not allow me many holiday-minutes, I am forced to seize the first that offer. 1830 D'Israeli Chas. I, III. viii. 164 Northumberland was serving a master for whose service he felt no zeal. |
† b. intr. Of land: To pay feudal service to a lord. [tr. L. servīre.] Obs.
| 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 272 At Excester when hee [the King] made any Expedition by Land or by Sea, this Citie served after the rate of V. Hides of Land. |
† c. trans. To be obedient to (parents). Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 9072 To cwemenn ure faderr wel & ure moderr baþe, To lutenn hemm, to lefftenn hemm, To serrfenn hemm well ȝerrne. |
d. To be the ‘servant’ or lover of (a lady).
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 448 But as hir man I wol ay live and sterve, And never other creature serve. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 160 Mi ladi that I serve. 1562 A. Brooke Romeus & Iuliet 78 What booteth me to loue and serue a fell vnthankfull one? 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. vii. 53 That gentle Lady, whom I loue and serue. 1611 Sir W. Mure Misc. P., Elegie 24 Still sall I hir adoir and serwe. 1781 Cowper Anti-Thelyph. 119 Can he that serves the Fair do less? 1819 Byron To Murray 29 June, A Neapolitan Prince..serves the wife of the Gonfaloniere. |
† 9. intr. (with const.). To render service or obedience to, unto (God, Satan, a feudal lord, etc.: see 7, 8). Obs.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xcix. 1 Serues to lauerd in fainenes [Vulg. servite Domino in laetitia]. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Cant. 504 All vnrightwismen, þat seruys till þe deuyll as his trew knyghtis. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 458 Good goodly, to whom serve I and laboure As I best can. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 436 For he Ay lely has serwyt to me. 1382 Wyclif Heb. viii. 5 The whiche seruen to [1611 Who serue vnto] the saumpler and schadewe of heuenly thingis. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 322 And thus thi will is cause of Sinne, And is thi lord, to whom thou servest. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. viii. 1 But O th' exceeding grace Of highest God, that loues his creatures so..That blessed Angels he sends to and fro, To serue to wicked man, to serue his wicked foe. |
† 10. a. trans. To obey (a person's will): to fulfil, execute (a command, etc.).
| 1310 St. Brendan (Bälz) 24 Þer he miȝte alone be to servy godes wille. 13.. Coer de L. 1180 Gretes wel,..Bothe myn erchebysschopys tway, And so ye doo the chaunceler, To serve the lettre in all maner, In no maner the lettre fayle. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2410 Þ at þai with-sitt suld his saȝes & serue noȝt his pistill. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxii. 244 And thus rennethe on to other..tille the Emperours entent be served. 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. x. lix. (1612) 262 The King commands he there be slaine, Which Warrant did Banaiah serue. a 1639 Sir H. Wotton Char. Happy Life 2 How happy is he born and taught, That serveth not an others will? 1822 Shelley With Guitar 34 Ariel still Has tracked your steps, and served your will. |
b. To gratify, furnish means for satisfying (desire); to minister to, satisfy (one's need).
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 23 For bot his lust be fully served, Ther hath no wiht his thonk deserved. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxiv. 21 Sic is thair weird, thairfoir quha sould thame wyte To serue thair beistlie lust and appatite. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxxvi. 159 To serue their insatiable and damnable auarice. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 135 Many there were that did his picture gette To serue their eies. 1605 ― Lear iii. iv. 89 A Seruingman..that seru'd the Lust of my Mistris heart. 1697 Prideaux Mahomet (1716) 131 It appears how much he made his Imposture serve his Lust. 1715 Pope Iliad iii. 374 May all their Consorts serve promiscuous Lust! 1784 Cowper Task ii. 138 The very elements, though each be meant The minister of man, to serve his wants, Conspire against him. |
c. To comply with the request of (a person); to fulfil the wishes of, give (one) his wish.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1685 Quod Alexander belyue, ‘all þis I graunt, And els any othire thing aske & be serued’. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 31 Quhen seruit is all vdir man,..Na thing I get, na conquest than. |
† d. ? To give way to (the sea). Obs. rare—1.
| 1614 Gorges Lucan v. 200 To guide the helme the maister dreads: To port, to weare, or serue the seas, The labouring ship he cannot ease [v. 645–6 nescitque magister Quam frangat, cui cedat aquae]. |
11. to serve the time: to shape one's conduct in self-interested conformity to the views that happen to be in favour at the time. [L. tempori servire.] Cf. timeserving.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 441 Those, whome it best became to remeadye it, partlye wincked therat, partly seruing the time [orig. obsecundantes tempori], had a respect more to their priuate commoditye. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. i. §1 Who thinke that herein we serue the time, and speake in fauour of the present state, because thereby we eyther holde or seeke preferment. 1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alph. (1613), Temporise, to serve the time. 1823 Byron Juan xiii. xviii, Be wary, watch the time, and always serve it. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington 179 Who never sold the truth to serve the hour. |
12. a. To render active service to (a king or commander) in the army or navy; to fight for, ‘to obey in military actions’ (J.).
| 1518 Sir J. Stile in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 193 For otherwise he [the gunner] wol go to serve the King of Portugale. 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 18 Nov., He had two hundred thousand men ready to serve her [sc. the queen] in the war. 1764 Burn Poor Laws 179 Let them be forced to serve the king in his fleet. 1786 Burns Ep. to J. Rankine vi, I'd better gaen an' sair't the king, At Bunker's hill. 1821 Scott Kenilw. i, I have learned to be dangerous upon points of honour ever since I served the Spaniard. 1887 A. E. Housman Shropsh. Lad i, We pledge in peace by farm and town The Queen they served in war. |
¶ b. In the phrase to serve one's country the meaning of the vb. fluctuates between ‘to labour for, be in the service of’ and ‘to benefit, do good offices to’ (see 16).
| 1600 Sir W. Cornwallis Ess. i. iii. D i, He serued his country for his countries sake. 1651 Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxviii. 166 Men have no lawfull remedy, when they be commanded to quit their private businesse, to serve the publique, without Reward, or Salary. 1671 Milton Samson 564 To what can I be useful, wherein serve My Nation. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. v. vi, War-Minister Narbonne..threatens..to ‘take his sword’,..and go serve his country with that. 1868 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art Add. 196 A labourer serves his country with his spade, just as a man in the middle ranks of life serves it with his sword, pen, or lancet. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 527 Those who serve their country ought to serve without receiving gifts. |
13. a. intr. To take one's part in war under a sovereign or commander; to be a soldier or man-of-war's-man. Said also of a ship.
| 1518 Sir J. Stile in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 192 The said Master George gonner,..wol not in no wise serve any lenger here. 1523 Bp. Fox Ibid. 323 Souldyers..contynually attendante and servinge in the werre uppon the said borders. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xxxix. 158 The Suddartis swarfit, and said they wold not sar. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xvii. 19 b, [He] sent his gally..to serue in the warres. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. vii. 154 Who seru'st thou under? Will. Vnder Captaine Gower, my Liege. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 95 The Ianizers, who serve with muskettes of longer and bigger bore then those of the germans. 1632 Massinger Maid of Honour i. i, You are S{supr} A knight of Malta, and as I have heard, Have serv'd against the Turke. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 26 Apr. 1689, People being generally disaffected..so that the sea and land men would scarce serve without compulsion. 1744 Birch Life Boyle 201 He..then went to Scotland, where he served in the army till 1655. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 301 In 1666, John Sheffield, Earl of Mulgrave,..volunteered to serve at sea against the Dutch. 1855 G. C. Lewis Credib. Rom. Hist. II. 298 Pay had been introduced, in order to overcome the reluctance of the citizens to serve. 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 268 The 84th Regiment, in which I formerly served. |
† b. Phr. to see and serve: cf. to see service (service 12 d). Obs.
| 1590 Sir J. Smythe Disc. Weapons Ded. 1 b, That haue seene and serued in the well ordered warres of Emperours or Kings. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 84 I'ue seene my selfe, and seru'd against the French. |
c. To be employed as a sailor in the mercantile marine.
| 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 52 [He had] served a year On board a merchantman, and made himself Full sailor. Ibid. 120 The master of that ship Enoch had served in. |
14. a. trans. To perform the duties of (an office, cure of souls, etc.). Also, to go through a tenure of (a terminal office).
| ? 1404–8 26 Pol. Poems v. 46 Let eche man serue his charge in skylle. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 97 The ballance gois vnevin, That thow allace to serff hes kirkis sevin. 1557 in Warden Burgh Laws Dundee, etc. (1872) 335 Albeit he hes not seruit dewtie in all poyntis as become him of ye Craft. 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 20 §2 His Curat..that shall there serve the Cure for hym. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 281 They do you wrong to put you so oft vpon't. Are there not men in your Ward sufficient to serue it? 1711 Act 10 Anne, c. 14 (title) For exempting Apothecaries from serving Parish and Ward-Offices. 1786 Burns To Gavin Hamilton i, As lief then I'd have then, Your clerkship he should sair. 1824 G. Chalmers Caledonia III. ii. viii. 164 A Vicarage was established for serving the Cure. 1885 Act 48 & 49 Vict. c. 54 §9 The whole of the stipends to the curates serving any such benefice shall not exceed [etc.]. 1886 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day xxvi. (ed. 3) 240 The Lord Mayor..must have served the office of sheriff. |
b. To work for, assist at, take part in (a function); to take part in the service of (an institution); esp. to minister, discharge religious functions in (a church) or at (an altar).
| 1477–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 80 Paid to John Modley, for servyng the quere for þe termez of Mydsomer & Mighelmasse. 1565 Allen Defence Purg. ii. x. (1886) 299 Such as would profess the truth and serve the Altar. 1573 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 218 For the children that served the Mask. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. iii. ii. 253 A Gentile Player that served the Theatre. 1840 K. H. Digby Mores Cath. x. ii. (1847) III. 240/1 His monasteries were served by priests from without. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. x. 458 He found his church small, poor, served only by four or five canons. 1892 J. H. Pollen Acts Engl. Martyrs 358 In the following year he came on the English Mission, which he served for seven years. |
c. To attend (an auction).
| 1854 W. Chambers Things in Amer. 282 One migratory company..serving all the slave-auctions in the place. |
15. a. intr. To perform official duties, hold office (e.g. as sheriff or M.P., or on a jury). Formerly with n. as direct complement, to serve church-warden, etc.
| 1477–9 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 80 To the same Iohn..seruyng as a paressh Clerke, for his wages, xiijs iiijd. 1632 Serving in juries [see jury 1]. 1676 Rector's Bk. Clayworth (1910) 19 Mr. Dickonson promisd me to serve Church warden next year if I would excuse him this. 1696 Prideaux Lett. (1875) 174 A very fitt person to serve in parliament. 1698 Laws Nevis xvii. (1740) 16 Several Gentlemen of this Island have heretofore refused to serve as Assemblymen. 1721 Bailey, Burgess,..one that serves for a Borough in Parliament. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 180 The Crown's having power to compel a subject to be a sheriff; and to fine him for refusing to serve. 1834 Macaulay Ess., Pitt ¶10 When Parliament met in 1735, Thomas made his election to serve for Oakhampton. 1851 Gentl. Mag. Apr. 419 Members returned to serve in Parliament. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 786/1 The class of persons entitled and liable to serve on special juries. |
† b. Of a serjeant: to serve at the bar. Obs.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 85 Þer houeþ an Hundret In Houues of selk, Seriauns hit semeþ to seruen atte Barre. |
† c. To have the office to do something. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 271 Asmod, which was a fend of helle, And serveth, as the bokes telle, To tempte a man of such a wise. |
16. a. trans. To render useful service to, do good offices to (a person); to work for or assist in any matter.
| 1638 Marquis of Hamilton Let. 1 Dec. in H. Papers (Camden) 64 Thinking my self most miserabill, in thatt I haue nat beine abill to serfe you as I uoold. 1658 W. Dugdale Let. to Sir T. Browne 9 Nov., I..shall rest At your Commands wherein I may serve you, W. Dugdale. 1727 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar June (1893) I. 507, I am sure whatever I can serve my poor nieces and nephews in, shall not be wanting on my part. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. ii, In all his calamities, they never discovered the least inclination to serve him. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xiii. 106 He ardently desired to serve his fellow-creatures. 1828 Macaulay Ess., Hallam ¶29 Cranmer rose into favour by serving Henry in the disgraceful affair of his first divorce. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xiii. (1878) 270 The lad thinks you were the ladies in serving whom he got into trouble. |
b. To render service to (a person's memory); to labour for (a cause).
| 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 25 Dec., Which is all I can do to serve her memory. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest viii, A tradesman or outlaw, who has served the cause. |
II. (Chiefly of things, primarily as a fig. use of senses in branch I.) To be subordinate, serviceable, or useful (to); to answer a purpose.
17. Of a thing: To be subordinate or subsidiary to (another).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 6 Þe vttre riwle, ðet ich þuften cleopede, & is monnes findles, nis for noþing elles istald bute forte seruie ðe inre. c 1440 Jacob's Well 194 Fastyng was made to serue prayere, & noȝt prayere to serue fastyng. Þerfore, prayere, þe heued, goth be-forn & þe handyll, fastyng, folowyth after him to be redy to seruyn hym, as þe heued of þe schouele is be-fore, & þe handyl þer-of is be-hynde to serue þe heued. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 101 In the Soule Are many lesser Faculties that serve Reason as chief. Ibid. viii. 87 That Bodies bright and greater should not serve The less not bright. |
† 18. intr. To be serviceable to (a person); be subsidiary to (a thing). Obs.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints v. (Johannes) 196 Al creatur to be commone settis þare cur, as sone, mone, sternis al smal, presis þam to serwe til all. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4114 Bot or he partyd þat pelfe he proued first in him selfe Whatkyn vertu it was of; To him full wele it serof. 1669 Holder Elem. Speech 8 As was said of the Senses, to which they [the tongue and pen] serve. |
19. a. trans. To be useful or advantageous to; to answer the requirements of; to be used by. Const. inf. of purpose. With negative expressed or implied: To avail or profit (one) nothing.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3545 For-birth, he said, quat serues me? 13.. Coer de L. 1550 Off froyt here is gret plente! Fyggys, raysyns, in frayel, And notes may serve us fol wel. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 173 A flaume..That serueþ þese swynkeres to seo by a nyghtes. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1364 If he cuthe seke any sleȝt þat him serue wald. 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus Ep. Ded. b ij, He hath maystered the latinitie, and forced it to serue hym, to set forthe to all clerkes his intent and purpose. 1565 Allen Defence Purg. xvii. 283 Which forme of argument serued the Arians against the consubstantiall vnitye of God the father, and his son our sauiour. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 444 That scuse serues many men to saue their gifts. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. vi. 94 It brings forth a great aboundance of reedes.. which serves them to a thousand vses. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 405 We knew the Convoy he intended us, would serve us in no stead. 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 178 If my going to Milan, or going anywhere, would serve you, I would joyfully go directly. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxxv, May your penitence avail you before God; with me it shall serve you nothing. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. iii, I had youth and hope. I believe, beauty... Neither of the three served, or saved me. 1861 Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Agam. 72 note, The readings of the MSS{ddd}may be made to serve both sides of the question. |
b. To be used in common by (a number of persons).
| 1418 E.E. Wills 32 That than the forsaide ij. vestmentes shull remayne & duelle still alwey in the forsaide Chaunterie to serue the prestes of the same Chaunterie. 1563 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 93 A graie stoned horse to serve the towneshippe. 1612–13 Aberd. Acc. in Spalding Club Miscell. V. 92 Item,..for ane quheil barrou to serue the toune, 12s. 1749 Smollett Gil Blas ii. vii. (1782) I. 166 A wretched flock-bed, covered with a doubled sheet, which had served an hundred different travellers, at least, since the last washing. 1774 Warton Hist. Poetry I. Diss. ii. a 3 b, At the beginning of the tenth century books were so scarce in Spain, that one and the same copy of the bible..often served several different monasteries. |
c. Of a bodily faculty or organ: To render its normal service to (the owner). Also const. inf.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 463 Min eiȝen sorly aren sogettes to serue min hert, & buxum ben to his bidding as boie to his master. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 214 And yet his tongue serued hym well otherwise, to vtter what soeuer came in his hedde. 1668 R. L'Estrange Vis. Quev. ii. (1702) 58 Will your Teeth serve you now to fetch out the Marrow of this Prophesy? a 1700 Evelyn Diary 8 Mar. 1681, Her eyes serving her as well as ever. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xviii, ‘And where are the two women?’ said Sharpitlaw. ‘Both made their heels serve them, I suspect.’ |
d. Of a thing: To supply the need or contribute to the working of (another thing).
| 1580 Blundevil Cur. Horses Dis. xcv. 42 b, Tenasmus..is an vlcer in the right gut seruing the fundament. 1601 Holland Pliny xxx. iv. II. 378 As touching the cricks of the nerues or sinews that serve the nape of the necke. 1668 Culpeper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iii. ii. 325 The third [branch of a nerve] by the Cavity of the Nostrils serves the coat of the said Nostrils. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 49 Two Screws fitted to serve the four holes. 1878 Stevenson Inland Voy. 4 Here and there a flight of steps to serve a ferry. |
20. intr. To have a definite use or function, answer a purpose, effect or conduce to an end; to admit of being used for some end. With negative expressed or implied = to be of no use, not to avail. † a. const. of (a purpose). [= F. servir de.]
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9687 For quar-of serues ani a-sise Of sothfastnes, or of iustise, Bot for to yeme þe pes in land, Dom es þar-for sett to stand. c 1386 Chaucer Manciple's T. 235 Wost thou wherof a racle tonge serueth? 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles ii. 45 Than was it ffoly..To sette siluer signes þat of nouȝt serued. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 8 b, An enuious man serueth of noght but to disprayse alle other. 1550 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 90 The fortis..be cassin doun becaus tha serve of na thing in tyme of pece. |
† b. const. to (a purpose). Obs.
| c 1305 Land Cokayne 47 Watir seruiþ þer to no þing Bot to siȝt and to waiissing. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2775 Penaunce to thole here with gude wille, Serves here til twa thynges by skille. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 51 As to the body, there are many members, seruing to seuerall vses. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. iii. § 6 To what end do these miracles serve? 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iii. vi. §28 Every Man's Words being intelligible only to himself, would no longer serve to Conversation. 1737 Waterland Eucharist 124 The Uses which they serve to. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. viii, This served to many good purposes. 1853 Lytton My Novel x. xiii, How far his reasonings and patience served to his ends, remains yet to be seen. 1863 ― Caxtoniana I. xi. 195 The times in which they were composed, and the purposes to which they served. |
c. const. for (a purpose).
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 380 And ther fore servith scheld and spere. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 73 Gud ordinance, that serd for his estate, His cusyng maid at all tyme. 1576 Fleming tr. Caius' Dogs ii. (1880) 14 Such Dogges as serue for fowling. 1599 E. Wright Err. Navig. F 2, These numbers..serue only for the finding out of the degrees and minutes of latitude. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xxi. 161 Unto others it [sc. water] performs the common office of ayre, and serves for refrigeration of the heart. 1669 Holder Elem. Speech 32 The Organs which serve for Articulation. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. xxxii, To clear a convenient part of the seats..that it might serve for the accommodation of Prince Tancred's followers. 1844 S. Tyler Baconian Philos. i. (1846) 51 (Funk) The nerve of vision..can never serve for hearing. 1845 J. Martineau Ess. (1869) II. 20 This, however, though of very wide application, will not serve for the solution of every problem. |
d. const. inf. (expressing purpose or use).
| a 1300 [see a]. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 797 Alle þe godus þat ȝe geten..Seruen for to sustaine ȝour vnsely wombe. 1477 [see a]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 20 b, They will serve well to confute their Errours. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xxxii. 296 The grape ripens not well..so as they serve only to eate. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 211 [The dodo's wings] serue only to proue her Bird. 1700 Dryden Sigism. & Guisc. 84 This little Brand will serve to light your Fire. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man 1, I'm sorry they taught him any philosophy at all; it has only served to spoil him. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxvi[i]. 7 These..lullabies..May serve to curl a maiden's locks. 1871 B. Stewart Heat §91 The great latent heat of water serves to retard the melting of snow. |
e. without const. Often with negative, or in rhetorical question, as what serves it? = what is the use of it?
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 331 What seruez tresor, bot garez men grete When he hit schal efte with tenez tyne? a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2374 (Dubl. MS.) What seruyd ȝitte all þar sapience & sleghtes of were? a 1530 Heywood Play of Wether 716 (Brandl) Nother of them both that hath wyt nor grace To perceyue that both myllys may serue in place. 1566 Gascoigne Supposes i. ii, But this lighte serueth not very well, I will beholde it an other day, when the ayre is clearer. a 1586 Sidney Ps. xxx. ix, What serves, alas, the blood of me When I with in the pitt doe bide? 1785 Burns Epist. to J. Lapraik xi, If honest Nature made you fools, What sairs your Grammars? 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §209 It makes however excellent water mortar,..and will very well serve in those parts of the kingdom. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 343 If the manganese that has been once used, be exposed for some time to the air, it will serve again. 1820 Shelley Hymn Merc. liii, When no evasion Served—for the cunning one his match had found. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. vii. x, Barricading serves not. |
f. To be usable or available for.
| 1528 Roy Rede me ii. (Arb.) 98 For the best meate awaye they carve, Which for their harlottis must serve, With wother frendes of their kynne. 1614 Gorges Lucan ix. 385 Then they vnto that Temple came, That serues for all the Libian name. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. iii. (1640) 46 This vision, though calculated for this one Bishop, did generally serve for all the non-residents which posted hither. 1662 Charleton Myst. Vintners (1675) 181 The same Parell serves also for White Wines upon the Frett. 1671 E. Chamberlayne St. Eng. ii. 79 Besides these Courts serving for the whole Province, every Bishop hath his Court held in the Cathedral of his Diocess. |
21. trans. To help to fulfil or bring about (an end, purpose, etc.); to be a means to, contribute or conduce to, tend to promote.
| a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 82 They make Christ and his Gospell, onelie serue Ciuill pollicie. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. x. 36 He had no weapon, but his shepheards hooke, To serue the vengeaunce of his wrathfull will. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. i. 94 Since it serues my purpose. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 398 As thir shape servd best his end. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 178 Turners have commonly two or three pair of Puppets to fit one Lathe, and always strive to use the shortest they can to serve their Work. 1736 Butler Anal. ii. i. Wks. 1874 I. 156 Christianity served these ends and purposes, when it was first published. 1778 F. Burney Evelina xxxii, Neither do I know another human being who could serve any interest by such a deception. 1819 Shelley Cenci ii. ii. 107 It fortunately serves my close designs. 1884 Manch. Examiner 20 Feb. 5/1 Diatribes so blind and furious can do no good to the cause they are meant to serve. 1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (1907) 19 It would serve no useful purpose. 1895 Law Times XCIX. 545/2 We best serve our own interests in studying the interests of those for whom we act. |
22. To discharge a specified function; to take the place of some specified agency. a. intr. To be of use, admit of being used as, for, instead of (some means, agency, or the like).
| 1387 Higden Trevisa (Rolls) V. 171 And anon his mouþ bycom his ers, and servede aftirward in stede of his neþer ende. 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. I. 135 A naturall abashmente and shame, which with the vaile of honor doth serue, or ought to serue for a bridle. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. ii. 41 One turfe shall serue as pillow for vs both. 1606 Knolles tr. Bodin's Commw. i. v. 35 Let one example serue for many. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. xvi. 111 Those may make excellent merchants and mechanicks which will not serve for Scholars. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxiv. 212 The Cloud served as a sign of God's presence. 1765 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 280 When the land is wet, the furrows serve for drains. 1820 Shelley Œdip. i. 87 He'll serve instead of riot money. 1856 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1870) II. 145 Mr. Hall, being familiar with the localities, served admirably as a guide. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 44 The Great Hall, serving for a council-chamber on days of general convocation, and as a banqueting-room for the oft-recurring festivities. 1910 Encycl. Brit. II. 28/1 A grasshopper or almost any large fly will serve for bait. |
† b. With omission of as. Obs.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. ii. 15 It [sc. the Tuscan Servia] well may serue A nursserie to our Gentrie, who are sicke For breathing, and exploit. 1654 Z. Coke Logick Pref., Nor could the Monuments of these Whirlegigs serve Muniments to their expiring glories. |
c. trans. To be of use to (a person or thing) in the way specified; const. as in a.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 47 This precious stone, set in the siluer sea, Which serues it in the office of a wall, Or as a Moate defensiue to a house. 1595 Daniel Civ. Wars iii. xix. 48 So that a talke of tumult and a breath Would serue him as his passing-bell to death. 1614 Gorges Lucan viii. 329 Vntill..Babylon they had throwne downe To serue the Crassi for their tombe. 1731–8 Swift Pol. Conversat. 112 My Stomach serves me instead of a Clock. 1818 Byron Juan i. vi, Some..paradise or cavern, Which serves the happy couple for a tavern. 1845 J. Coulter Adv. in Pacific viii. 95 There was plenty of long grass about... This served me well for a bed. |
¶ d. to serve the place or stead of: app. for ‘to serve in place of’ (cf. a).
| 1827 Scott Highl. Widow v, She lighted..a splinter of bog pine which was to serve the place of a candle. 1837 C. Lofft Self-formation I. 199 They may serve the stead of presence of mind, to a certain point at least. |
† 23. a. Of one's courage, conscience, inclination, etc.: To prompt, encourage (one), to do something; (with negative expressed or implied) to permit, suffer.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 255 Ys herte was god & sykerly serued him to do þat dede. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xiii. (1885) 142 But þer hartes serue hem not to take a manys gode, while he is present, and woll defende it. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 33, I grawunte my executours ful pover to do to hire as ther discrecyon wyl serve hem to doo. 1521 Bp. Longland in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 252, I mynystred as my weykenes wold serve, in pontificalibus. a 1530 Heywood Play of Wether 871 (Brandl) Yf your appetyte serue you so to do. 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1185/1 My conscience can not serue me..to praise her calfe aboue twoo pence. 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus i. ii. F j, Go safely thyther as thy harte or courage serueth the. 1576 in J. Morris Troubles Cath. Forefathers (1877) 249 He cometh not to the church because his conscience will not serve him so to do. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. i. 38 The Mathematickes, and the Metaphysickes Fall to them as you finde your stomacke serues you. 1596 ― Merch. V. ii. ii. 1 Certainely, my conscience will serue me to run from this Iew my Maister. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 100 Do so if your mind serue you. |
b. intr.
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iv. 164 And therefore take this compact of a Truce, Although you breake it, when your pleasure serues. |
24. Of the wind, weather, tide, etc.: † a. trans. To favour, be favourable to. Obs.
| 13.. Coer de L. 56 Anon the sayl up thay drowgh, The wynd hem servyd wel inowgh. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 143 The wynde hem served, it was ful goode. 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 9 §6 As soon as Wind and Weather will serve them after the said Two Months. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. i. 31 [We] found the wind to be at Northwest, which serued vs so wel, that..we sayled that night 60. miles. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. iv. 131 They come from the East, where the Easterly or Northerne windes do serve them. |
b. intr. To be favourable or suitable.
| 1443 Acts Privy Council (1835) V. 239 Yif winde & weder wol serve. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 14 To make..their departur from the said port..as soone as wynde and wether wyl serue. 1599 Dallam in Early Voy. Levant (Hakl. Soc.) 5 Thare we came to an anker, for the wynde sarved not to pass by Dover. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 223 On such a full Sea are we now a-float, And we must take the current when it serues, Or loose our Ventures. 1682 Lond. Gaz. No. 1740/4 The Tide serving early. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) II. 73 The wind and tide served for us. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §225 The weather serving at intervals,..the first course..was finished. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxi, I propose to make a farther excursion through this country while this fine frosty weather serves. 1827 ― Surg. Dau. Pref., Leaving to the atmosphere to bring forth the young, or otherwise, as the climate shall serve. 1894 Sir J. D. Astley 50 Yrs. Life II. 247 As the tide did not serve, the anchor was let go. |
25. Of time, occasion, or the like: To be opportune, convenient, or favourable (to). Of one's leisure: To afford (one) occasion or opportunity, to be at one's disposal. Also const. inf. of purpose. a. trans.
| 1570 T. Wilson tr. Demosth. Orat. iv. 38 There is no let in your way to passe into his country, when occasion shal serue you. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 78 If fortune serue me, Ile requite this kindnesse. 1596 ― Merch. V. iv. i. 405, I am sorry that your leysure serues you not. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. v. (1626) 97 But, ours perhaps to heare, Nor leasure serues you, nor is't worth your eare. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxxiii, Tell Colonel Ashton..I shall be found at Wolf's Crag when his leisure serves him. |
b. intr.
| 1410 26 Pol. Poems ix. 146 And ȝe in batayle haue maystrie, And fortune serue, and god ȝow spede. 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus iii. iii. P ij, While the tyme dyd beare .i. whyle the tyme serued. 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates i. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 8 Tyme seruis not to schaw. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 194 And as occasion shall serue I will requite thee. 1584 A. Munday Fidele & Fortunio 711 in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. CXXIII. 62 My leasure serues, and I will stand. 1599 George a Greene C 3 b, In spite of thee they now shall feede their fill, And eate vntill our leasures serue to goe. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. iii. 32 The day serues well for them now. 1681 Dryden Span. Friar iv. iii. 62 Read that, 'Tis with the Royal Signet sign'd, And given me by the King when time shou'd serve To be perus'd by you. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxiii, The large boughs which had been left on the ground till time served to make them into fagots and billets. 1879 G. A. Sala in Daily Tel. 21 July, At eating and drinking London I shall arrive, should occasion serve by-and-bye. 1879 Spencer Princ. Sociol. §349 II. 36 The sportsman, narrating his feats when opportunity serves. |
26. Of the memory: To assist or prompt its owner, be at his call, not to fail him. a. trans.
| 1634 in Fasti Aberd. (1854) 398 The subprincipall..testifiet that since the twalt day of Marche last, as his memorie serwes him, the said principall did [etc.]. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. 70 You have now at length this question..as my memory would best serve me in such a copious, and vast theme, fully handl'd. 1695 New Light Chirurg. put Out 54 The Doctor's either Modesty or Memory hath not served him to insert [etc.]. 1861 S. Brooks Silver Cord viii. (1865) 44 Or perhaps your memory don't serve you as well as it did. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings lv, I think I did tell you so, Hamish, if my memory serves me right. 1895 Budd in Law Times XCIX. 543/2 If my memory serves me, the late Sir Henry Jackson..brought a Bill into Parliament on the subject. |
b. intr.
| 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 31, I will content my self to discover a view of the country, as faithfully, and exactly as my memory will serve. 1911 Saintsbury in Cambr. Hist. Eng. Lit. VII. v. 104 So far as memory serves, there is not any passage in his entire work which [etc.]. |
27. a. trans. To suffice (a person) in regard to some need or requirement. Const. inf., or for (a purpose). Also, to last (one) for a specified time.
| 1450 Hen. VI in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 85 There vitailes ben not suffisant to serue them for iij wekes at the farrest. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xv. 24 Few wordis may serve the wyis. a 1530 Heywood Play of Wether 692, I say we nede no water mylles at all For wyndmylles be suffycyent to serue all. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 52 b, A romishe acre of it [medick fodder]..will serue iii. horses for an hole yere. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. viii. 74 It will serue you to mend your shooes. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 303 They provide Ice enough to serve them all Summer. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 146 The 21st day we sent out our Moskito Strikers for Turtle, who brought aboard enough to serve both Ships Companies. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 119 ¶3 A polite Country 'Squire shall make you as many Bows in half an Hour, as would serve a Courtier for a Week. 1734 Pope Hor. Sat. ii. ii. 53 One half-pint bottle serves them both to dine. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. v. ii, Never let me hear you utter any thing like a sentiment; I have had enough of them to serve me the rest of my life. 1821 Scott Kenilw. iii, Private apartments..bedizened fine enough to serve the Queen. |
b. In sentences containing a negative: To satisfy, content, meet the wishes or demands of. Esp. in forms like ‘nothing would serve him but..’.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 140 No other water would serue their pallat. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. (1900) 168 Nothing will serve me but going on Pilgrimage. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iii. i. (Rtldg.) 76 He took such a fancy to me that nothing would serve him but I must be his guest at Segovia. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxv, With those whom such reasons did not serve, they dealt more rudely. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vi, Nothing would serve him but that we should turn off for Hungerford at once. |
c. To be sufficient for, furnish what is requisite for (a thing). Also, † to be a sufficient account of, be applicable to.
| 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. i. xliii. (1890) I. 248 Not suffring so much straw, as would serue the couche of two dogges, to be left vnconsumed. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 9 Lesse fencing serues six acres together, than three in seuerall inclosures. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 96 About twelve or fourteen quarter of lime serves an acre. 1662 Playford Skill Mus. ii. (1674) 99 These Directions for the Bass-Viol do also serve the Treble-Viol. 1705 tr. Bosman's Guinea 476 What hath been said of the Habits, Cattle and Fruit of the former, may also serve them. |
28. a. intr. To suffice, meet the needs of the case; to be adequate or sufficient. Also, to last for a given period. Const. for or inf.
| 1496–7 Act 12 Hen. VII, c. 13 §1 As mych of the goodez..as shall serve for the payment of suche somme. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §126 Reed wethy is beste in marsshe grounde; asshe, maple, hasel, and whyte-thorne wyl serue for a time. 1549 Bk. Comm. Prayer, Commun., Puttyng y⊇ wyne into the Chalice, or else in some faire or conueniente cup, prepared for that use (if the Chalice will not serue). 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. i. 101 'Tis not so deepe as a well, nor so wide as a Church doore, but 'tis inough, 'twill serue. c 1610 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster iv. ii, Bestow on me..so much as may serve To keep that little piece I hold of life From cold and hunger. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. iv. 4 Thus much may serve concerning the originall and institution of these Schools of the Prophets. 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. 119 The Indians make use of no more Land than serves to maintain their Families in Maiz; and to pay their Taxes. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 9 Which [provision] a man must husband as he thinks best; it is to serve for the whole week. 1801 H. K. White Let. Apr. Life & Rem. (1850) 256 My father generally gives me one coat in a year, and I make two serve. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xxiv, Short greeting serves in time of strife. 1879 G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie lxii, Laverock iii, A hert for the micht o' 't Wad sair for nine men. |
b. (Chiefly in certain negative forms.) To satisfy, be considered satisfactory, meet people's wishes or demands.
| 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull ii. xiii, ‘Will nothing less than Hanging serve’ (quoth Jack)? 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. iii. ii, Nothing will serve but you must gather your way-worn limbs and thoughts, and speak to the multitudes. |
† 29. To be valid, hold good; to be available for; to be satisfactory, pass muster. Of coin: To pass current, be accepted. Obs.
| a 1467 Gregory Chron. in Hist. Coll. Cit. London (Camden) 230 But þe prevelege wolde not serve that tyme for noo cause of eresy. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531), 26 The coyne of one countre wyll not serue ne be admytted or receyued in an other countre. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 774 Serueth this libertie for my person onely, or for my goods to? 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 119 The world was very guilty of such a Ballet some three ages since, but I thinke now 'tis not to be found: or if it were, it would neither serue for the writing, nor the tune. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 123 A Bishop may prove himself to be a Bishop several ways... First, By the Bulls or Letters of his Election: but then this only serves in the Romish Countries. |
30. trans. To suit, fit. (Chiefly of clothes.) Obs. exc. Sc.
| 1540 W. G. Answ. to Maister Smyth vii. (Huth), Although a shypmans hose wyll serue all sortes of legges. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 154 Demonedes hauing crooked feete..made his praier to God, that his shoone might serue his feete, that had stolne them awaie. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 167, I was trim'd in Madam Iulias gowne, Which serued me as fit, by all mens iudgements, As if the garment had bin made for me. 1611 ― Cymb. iv. i. 3 How fit his Garments serue me! 1749 Smollett Gil Blas ii. iii. (1782) I. 136 With a doublet and breeches which would have served a man four times as big as me. 1790 Scott Let. 6 Aug. in Lockhart (1837) I. vi. 167 This character..would serve most of them. 1808 Jamieson, To Sair,..to fit, to be large enough. The coat does na sair him, i.e. it is too little. 1879 ‘Sarah Tytler’ Bride's Pass. v. in Good Words 198 I've no quarrel with his appearance; unless that I think it would better serve a pinging lassie than a bold lad. |
III. To minister to a person at table; hence, to supply, furnish, present with (a commodity).
31. a. [Cf. sense 4 above.] To wait upon (a person) at table; hence, to set food before, help (a person) to food.
to serve in (later on) silver, etc.: to give (a person) his food in vessels of silver, etc.
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 29 Architriclin, þat was se þet ferst was i-serued. c 1275 Lay. 22776 Þe hehȝe ibore men þane mete beare..ech man þare sareuede his freonde. 13.. K. Alis. 1156 He dude serve Olimpias In gold and seolver, in bras, in glas. 1388 Wyclif Luke xvii. 8 Girde thee, and serue me [1382 mynystre to me, Vulg. ministra mihi], while Y ete and drynke. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 153 He has fyfty damyselles þat seruez him ilk a day at his mete. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxvi. 226 They..sat down to supper, where as they were rychely seruyd. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 370 All the vessels wherein they are serued,..were of golde. 1731–8 Swift Pol. Conversat. 22 Let your Betters be serv'd before you. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. v, Our two little ones..were regularly served after we had done. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxvi, When I was only a refugee..I was served upon gold plate by order of the same Charles. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxiii, There is a servant in scarlet and lace to attend upon every four, and every one is served on silver. |
b. Const. with, † of: To supply (one) with food at a meal, to help (one) to food.
| 13.. K. Alis. 539 To the mete they weoren y-set, No myghte men beo served bet, Neither of mete no of drynke. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 749 And to the soper sette he vs anon And serued vs with vitaille at the beste. c 1400 Anturs of Arth. xxxvi, In siluer sa semly þai serue þame of the beste. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 51 Whan they had seruyd Alexander in vayssell of gold and siluer with dyuerce metes. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 18 Apr., I was very sorry I could not eat of as many [ragouts] as the good lady would have had me, who was very earnest in serving me of every thing. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 335 Serve him with ven'son, and he chooses fish. 1864 Mrs. H. Wood Trevlyn Hold xxix, How many are there to serve with pie still? |
† c. to serve (a person) forth or in: to set his food before him. (Cf. 43.) Obs.
| 1513 Bk. Kervynge in Meals & Manners (E.E.T.S.) 156 Than serue forth your souerayne withouten blame. 1629 Wadsworth Pilgr. iii. 16 Now let vs come to the Collegiates or Students, and their diet: First they are serued in by seuen of their owne rancke Weekely and in Course. |
d. Proverbs. to serve with (or † of) the same sauce: see sauce n. 3 a. first come, first served (also used with reference to sense 35).
| 1523–: see sauce n. 3 a. 1545–: see first adv. 1 b. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. cxv. 707 That hee which hath gone about to do his neighbour harme shall be serued of the same sawce himselfe. a 1722 Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 9 They must wait their tour..; and he that's first ready must be first served. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. vi. iv, Their long strings of purchasers, arranged in tail, so that the first come be the first served,—were the shop once open! |
32. absol. [Cf. sense 1.] To wait at table; to present or hand food to guests. † Formerly const. of (meat or drink); also to (a person).
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 29 Hye spac to þo serganz þat seruede of þo wyne. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3950 Kay king of aungeo a þousend kniȝtes nom..Of o sywte & seruede at þis feste anon. a 1300 K. Horn 234 Tech him..Biuore me to kerue & of þe cupe serue. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 892 He calles sir Cayous that of the cowpe serfede. c 1440 Ipomydon 57 He taught hym..to serve in halle, Bothe to grete and to smalle. 1526 Tindale Luke xxii. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meate: or he that serveth? 1528 Roy Rede me ii. (Arb.) 93 Knyghtes and squyres honorable, Are fayne to serve at their table As vnto Dukes excellent. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 11 Apr. 1645, [The Pope] serves at their table. |
33. trans. To set food on (the table), to spread with food.
The expression to serve tables, in Acts vi. 2 applied with reference to the administration of the alms of the church, is now sometimes allusively used with reference to the secular functions attached to the office of the clergy, viewed as encroaching on the time available for their more spiritual work.
| c 1386 Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 23 Hir bord was servyd most with whit and blak. 1539 Bible (Great) Acts vi. 2 It is not mete y{supt} we shuld leaue y⊇ worde of God, & serue tables [Gr. διακονεῖν τραπέζαις, 1526 Tindale, serve at the tables]. 1557 F. S[eager] Sch. Vertue iii. (heading), Howe to behaue thi selfe in seruynge the table. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vi. (1626) 120 The boards are princely seru'd. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 107 As soon as the guests were all arrived, the table was served, and they sat down to eat. |
| fig. 1884 L. A. Tollemache Safe Studies 359 The violent recoil against materialism which..has induced many good..persons to sell their scientific birthright and to serve tables. 1906 F. Pollock Let. 28 Dec. in Pollock-Holmes Lett. (1942) I. 136 Such men should not be put to serve the tables of university routine. |
34. To set food before, feed (animals). Const. with, † of. † Of meat: To be food for.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §146 Serue thy swyne bothe mornyng and euenynge. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lii. 177, I can..serue the houndes of theyr ryghtes. c 1566 Merie Tales of Skelton in S.'s Wks. (1843) I. p. lxiv, Well, sayd Skelton, for this once, serue my mare wyth horse bread. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxix. ii, The livelesse carcasses of those That liv'd thy servants, serve the crowes. 1602 J. Chamberlain Lett. (Camden) 148 Wherein you served two pigeons with one beane. 1625 Bacon Apophth. §278. 304 This Lady..called to one of her Maids, that lookt to the Swine, and askt; Is the piggy serued? 1680 O. Heywood Diaries (1881) II. 298 Mathew Midleborough's wife serving a swine. 1781 Beckford Hunting 199 No, master, I have not seen him [the fox]; but I smelt him here this morning, when I came to serve my sheep. |
35. a. To attend to the request of (a customer in a shop). Hence, to supply (a customer) with a commodity which he has come to purchase.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 190 Marchaundes..Bi-souȝten him in heore schoppes to sullen heore ware, Apparayleden him as a prentis þe Peple for to serue. 1556 Bp. Brooks Injunct. Gloucester § 20 All tavernes..and vitlinge houses to be shutte up at the time of Divine Service, and non to be served there at those times, but passingers onlie. 1727 De Foe's Compl. Eng. Tradesman (1732) I. xii. 147 If I am at any other part of the shop, and see him serving a customer, I never interrupt them. 1831 Lamb Elia ii. Ellistoniana ¶2, E{ddd}was serving in person two damsels fair, who had come into the shop ostensibly to inquire for some new publication. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxxviii. [Squeers loq.] You came to the right shop for mercy when you came to me, and thank your stars that it is me as has got to serve you with the article. 1851 Beck's Florist 181 My wife told me she noticed the shopkeeper served other people before her, though she came first. 1901 W. W. Jacobs Light Freights, A Marked Man (init.), Knocking on the mantelpiece all night with twopence and wanting to know why he wasn't being served. |
b. to serve the shop: to attend to customers.
| 1849 Cupples Green Hand iii. (1856) 34 The old salt had been rocking the cradle, with..a line made fast to keep it in play when he served the shop. |
c. intr. To attend to customers in a shop.
| 1825 Hone Every-day Bk. I. 49 All the pastrycooks always try to get handsome ladies to serve in the shop! 1860 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. vii, Is na' this Hester, as serves in Foster's shop? 1881 A Chequered Career 279 This young man serves behind a counter in a grocer's shop. |
d. Phr. serve-yourself, used attrib. of a shop, restaurant, etc., where the customer serves himself.
| 1937 M. Hillis Orchids on your Budget iii. 50 Those serve-yourself emporiums..often have simple ones [sc. evening wraps]..which..won't look very different from the costly one on your neighbor. 1949 E. S. Gardner Reluctant Witness in Case of Crying Swallow (1974) 166 Mugs handed him a photograph. It showed a young woman standing in a serve-yourself grocery store. 1971 Guardian 2 Jan. 8/5 There are plans for..bold new excursions into what some experts see as the coming serve-yourself hotel era. |
36. trans. To assist (a workman) by handing him materials; to ‘feed’ with material for work.
| 1525 in Gage Hengrave (1822) 46 Paide to John Haddenham for sarving of the mason for ij days..viijd. 1547 in Archæologia XXV. 562 To Dingle for iiij dayes thackinge xvj d... To Dingles sonne for servinge him iiij dayes viij d. 1601 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 137 A laborer, for iij days sarving the wallers, le day ij{supd} ob., vij{supd} ob. 1676 Poor Robin's Intell. 9–16 May 1/2 A Magistrate..received a Letter..as he was thatching a Hogsty, which being with much difficulty read by the Clark of the Parish that was serving him with Straw [etc.]. 1816 Cheshire Gloss. s.v. Sarve, The assistant who hands the straw up to the thatcher, or bricks and mortar to the bricklayer, is always said to ‘sarve’ him. |
37. To give alms to, relieve (a beggar). dial.
| 1765 J. Brown Chr. Jrnl. 205 How extremely impudent is this beggar! I served him as I went in; and yet now he bawls for more. a 1800 Pegge Suppl. Grose, Serve, to relieve a beggar. Derb. 1822 Galt Provost xiii. 106 Two bonny bairns..going from house to house, like the hungry babes in the wood;..as I was seeing them served myself at our door, I spoke to them. 1825 Jamieson s.v. Sair. |
38. gen. (Said of persons and things.) To supply, provide, or furnish with something necessary or requisite. Also, to furnish (a person, town, etc.) with a regular or continuous supply. † a. const. of (something).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 22508 Þe sun þat es sa bright, And seruis al þis werld o light. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 17 He hihte þe eorþe to seruen ow vchone Of wollene, Of linnene. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxii. 145 Oure land seruez vs of twa thinges, þat es to say of oure lyflade,..and of sepulture. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 334 He..serryffed seke folk of swilk as þaim nedud. 1483 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 6 §1 The Commons..be worse served of such Stuff and Merchandise as else should come to the said Fairs. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxvii. 64 Quhen thay wer serwit of thair speiris. 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. L iij, She appoynted..her to..serue mee of such necessaryes as I lacked. 1600 Holland Livy xxxviii. 1002 That..they might..be served of a mart-towne for vent. |
b. const. with.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 320 Serwyt thai war with gud speris enow. 1515 Sel. Cases Star Chamb. (Selden Soc.) II. 97 The said dauy serued my lord darcy house in Berwyke with hooppis. c 1553 Chancelor in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) I. 252 Colmagro serues all the Countrey about it with salt, and salt fish. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. iv. (1658) 202 Naples is..served with water by fountains and conduits. a 1700 Evelyn Diary (Chandos) 18 Dorking, which serves it abundantly with provisions. 1726–31 Waldron Descr. Isle of Man (1865) 32 A woman who..used to serve my family with butter. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 758 These [plants] serve him with a hint That nature lives. |
c. without const.
| 1511 Guylforde's Pilgr. (Camden) 22 Which condyttes serue all the Cytie in euery place. 1531 Dunfermline Reg. (Bannatyne Club) 363 Giff þe said abbot..desyris ony pan wod of my lord of sanct andr' coill thay sall be seruit befor ony vþeris. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 4 A Conduit of water, which serves all the Towne. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. ii, Besides, the Rascal has good Ware, and will serve him as cheap as any Body in that Case. 1868 Chamb. Encycl. X. 104/1 The distributing reservoir..must therefore be higher than the highest house to be served. 1892 Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 79 The thatch of the byres will serve their fires when all the cattle are slain. |
d. To supply with means of transit and conveyance: esp. of railways.
| 1866 Roy. Comm. Railways, Min. Evid. 601/1 He said that we [the company] had really served Rochdale well with trains and accommodation. 1892 Turrell & Graves Roads Oxf. 38 The country described in this book is served almost entirely by the Great Western Railway. |
† 39. a. refl. To make use of, avail oneself of. Also const. with, in the same sense. [After F. se servir de.] Obs.
In quot. 1560 = ‘to make use of as slaves’; the choice of expression was suggested by the Heb. original.
| 1560 Bible (Geneva) Jer. xxv. 14 Many nacions and great Kings shal euen serue them selues of them [so 1611 and 1884]. 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 56 Seruing himselfe with meane fellowes. 1600 Holland Livy xxxvii. 960 Intending..to serve himselfe of the provision prepared for the enemie. 1648 tr. Senault's Paraphr. Job 6 God..serves himself sometimes with criminals to execute his designes. 1655 Jer. Taylor Golden Grove 53 It were well if they would serve themselves of this form set down at the end of this Diary. 1714 Mrs. Manley Adv. Rivella 114 She had serv'd her self with Romantick Names, and a feign'd Scene of Action. 1750 Warburton in W. & Hurd Lett. (1809) 58 You may serve yourself of the following hints. 1846 Trench Mirac. vi. (1862) 189 note, In the intercourse of ordinary life our Lord served Himself, as was natural, of the popular Aramaic. |
† b. intr. (? for refl.). To make use of. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 79 Þes feyned þeues seruen of þis, to forbede men to do goddis seruyce. |
40. transf. (trans.) To ply, assail with (hostile weapons). rare. (So F. servir.)
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xvi. 451 And with suerdis that scharply schar Thai seruit thame full egyrly. Ibid. 454. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. ii, Then to read or mumble something about the King's peace; and, after certain pauses, serve any undispersing Assemblage with musket-shot, or whatever shot will disperse it. |
41. Sc. To satisfy or content with (food, etc.). (Cf. sense 27 b.) Hence, to give (one) a glut of, weary of.
| 1768 Ross Helenore (1789) 30 The squire..Says cannily, I'm sure ye are not saird; Here's fouth of meat, eat on and do not spair't. Ibid. 47 It seems ye are na sair'd wi' what ye got. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 148 (E.D.D.) Whan sair'd o' beef, they get a roast O' dainty rare sweet mutton. a 1819 A. Watson in W. Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 328 They saired them o' fighting wi' very few blows. 1886 Willock Rosetty Ends xii. (1887) 93 Dauvit tried nae mair experiments in galvanism. Ae dose o'it saired him. |
IV. (Inversion of the construction in branch III. Cf. the converse development of sense in present v. 11–13.) To dish up (food); to deal out, present (a commodity).
42. a. To set (meat or drink) on the table or before a person; to bring in or dish up (a meal). † Also const. to or into (the table). Also (is) serving = (is) being served.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 997 Ho [Lot's wife] serued at þe soper salt bifore dryȝtyn. a 1400 Sir Cleges 382 The cheryse were servyd thorowe the hall. 1513 Bk. Kervynge in Meals & Manners (E.E.T.S.) 160 Fyrste on that daye [Easter] he shall serue a calfe soden and blessyd. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 25 A piece whereof is served to the Emperours table. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 268 A fishes head of great bignesse being serued into the table. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. iii. ii. 7 Having fed heartily on a kid, that was served into the table. 1726 Swift Gulliver iii. ii. 188 They cut up the joints that were served to his majesty's table. 1781 Cowper Truth 213 The dinner serv'd, Charles takes his stand, Watches your eye, anticipates command. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxxviii, But dinner is serving, go into the after-cabin. 1856 Kane Arctic Explor. II. vi. 74 He cooked and served our breakfast-meal. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile xviii. 487 After luncheon..coffee was served. 1885 Truth 2 July 2/1 It was getting on for two before supper was served. |
| absol. 1697 Vanbrugh Prov. Wife ii. ii, Cor. Will your ladyship please to dine yet? Lady Fan. Yes, let 'em serve. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) III. 241, I see my People coming to tell us they have served: Allons..refresh yourself at Dinner. 1905 R. Bagot Passport xxiv. 256 The men-servants were already bringing in the coffee, and Monsieur d'Antin was constrained to wait until they had served and retired. |
b. const. to (a person) or dative. Hence also in indirect passive. Also in phr. serve-yourself, used attrib. of foods or meals which one serves to oneself.
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 167 How durst you villaines bring it from the dresser And serue it thus to me? 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 18 Apr., After this they served me coffee upon their knees in the finest japan china. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 88 This afternoon the People insisted to be serv'd Brandy out of the Casks that were buried Under-ground; accordingly they were serv'd half a Pint each Man. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair liii, The Colonel's breakfast was served to him in the same dingy..plated ware. 1859 Tennyson Enid 304 So that ye do not serve me sparrow-hawks For supper. 1971 M. Lee Dying for Fun ii. 19 His host, left to himself, would have taken him to a little piece of America in London, with serve-yourself fried chicken. 1976 Newmarket Jrnl. 16 Dec., A serve-yourself buffet with a choice of several hot and cold dishes is the ideal solution to entertaining over the festive season. |
c. To dish up or send to the table in a specified manner or with some other edible.
| c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. i. 6 As men seruyth furmenty wyth venyson. c 1450 Ibid. ii. 83 And so serue hit hote. 1747 H. Glasse Cookery ii. 50 Bake them [Larks] in a gentle Oven, serve them without Sauce. 1849 M. Arnold Sick King Bokhara 287 Cherries served in drifts of snow. 1864 Englishw. in India 145 Boil these gently together and serve on toast. 1884 Howells in Harper's Mag. Dec. 111/2 Everything is served à la Russe. |
d. To hand out (food) in portions; = help v. 8 b.
| 1682 G. Rose Sch. Instruct. Officers Mouth 24 They ought to serve the Sweetmeats with a Fork, but the Dragee, or small Seeds of Sugar with a Spoon. |
43. a. With adverbs, † away, † forth, † forth in, in (? obs.), up, in the same sense as in 42.
| c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. i. 5 Serue it forth. Ibid. 13 Þanne serue it forth ynne. c 1440 Lydg. Hors, Shepe & G. 208 (Harl. MS.) A fatt goos..Is served vp at the kyngis table. c 1530 Doctrynall Gd. Servauntes in Anc. Poet. Tracts (Percy Soc.) 8 Fyrste serue ye in the potage, And than eche meet after his degre. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iii. 101 Madam, the guests are come, supper seru'd vp. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 83 At supper they served in a peece of roasted beefe hot. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 38 Marshal'd Feast Serv'd up in Hall with Sewers, and Seneshals. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 108 ¶5 The Gentleman..had the Pleasure of seeing the huge Jack, he had caught, served up for the first Dish. 1747 H. Glasse Cookery xi. 123 Put in the Meat again..and let it boil; then serve it away. 1775 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opin. lvi. (1783) II. 164 The dinner was serving up as I entered the dining-parlour. 1827 in Scott Chron. Canongate Introd. App., The dinner was very handsome (though slowly served in). 1878 W. S. Gilbert H.M.S. Pinafore ii, And dinner served up in a pudding basin! |
| absol. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. i. 7 Let boyle to-gederys, an serue in. Ibid. 8 Sette hem on þe dysshe, an serue forth. |
b. transf. and fig. (Cf. dish up.)
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 296 The beste wordes wolde I pike..And serve hem forth in stede of chese. 1576 Fleming tr. Caius' Dogs To Rdr., If I serue in their meat with wrong sawce. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. i. 14 Then giue me leaue to read Philosophy, And while I pause, serue in your harmony. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Priesth. v, Th' holy men of God such vessels are, As serve him up, who all the world commands. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. xiv. 243 History is meat not only well seasoned..but substantially and magnificently served in to please the curious pallat. 1711 Medley No. 23. 267 The Examiner utters Falshoods that are altogether stale and exploded; whereas Abel serves them up fresh and fresh. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 488 ¶2 Provided the Spectator might be served up to them every Morning as usual. 1848 Bartlett Dict. Amer., To Serve up, to expose to ridicule; to expose. 1875 Manning Mission Holy Ghost xiii. 371 You serve them up to us like new articles of science. |
c. to serve out, to distribute or deal out (food, ammunition, etc.) in portions. Also jocularly (chiefly Naut.), to mete out or administer (corporal punishment); cf. 46.
| 1793 J. Macdonell Jrnl. 15 Aug. in Five Fur-Traders of Northw. (1933) 101 Our Bourgeois came up with us and ordered each man a dram, which I served out to them. 1802 Richardson in Naval Chron. VII. 54 My grog was served out. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xl, To preside over the stock-fish and ale, which was just serving out for the friars' breakfast. 1827 O. W. Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 67, I served out some kegs of gunpowder. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Serving out slops, distributing clothing, &c. Also, a cant term to denote punishment at the gangway. 1884 S. St. John Hayti iii. 81 On many of the large estates, a certain number of lashes was served out every morning as regularly as the rations. 1887 F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin xi. 207 The short measures of flour which ‘Rowdy Jack’, one of their fellow-men, served out. |
† 44. a. gen. To supply, furnish (a commodity); to yield a regular or continuous supply of. Of the earth: To yield, bring forth. Const. to. Obs.
| 1575 Gascoigne Kenelworth Castle Wks. 1910 II. 129 What fruits this soyle may serve. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iv. 14 Ant. Fiue hundred Duckets villaine for a rope? E. Dro. Ile serue you sir fiue hundred at the rate. 1677 A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 102 Our People too, with this Money, make Cloth, and serve it cheap in all places where we send our Cloth. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 25 Oct. 1695, The pump he had erected that serves water to his garden. |
b. intr. (? for refl.). Of a commodity: To yield a supply, to be forthcoming. rare.
| 1575 Gascoigne Fruits of Warre cxxxvii, Three dayes wee fought, as long as water served. 1893–4 Northumbld. Gloss. s.v., Gas is said to serve when it issues more or less regularly from a fault, slip, etc., in a coal mine. |
45. trans. (in fig. uses). † To deliver or deal blows or the like (obs.; cf. 43 c); † to play (one) a trick; to do (one) a (good or bad) turn.
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 38, I remember the tricke you seru'd me, when I tooke my leaue of Madam Siluia. 1607 ― Timon i. ii. 237 What a coiles heere, seruing of beckes, and iutting out of bummes. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvii, It would have been serving you a good turn, ma'amselle, as well as myself. 1887 W. E. Norris Major & Minor III. 249 You never in your life served me a worse turn than when you prevented me from hitting that man. |
46. To hand (a commodity) to a customer in a shop. (Cf. sense 35.)
| 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. iii. vi, Ben Tyrrett's wife says will you let her have a gill of vinegar? Be I to serve it? |
V. To treat in a specified manner. [Developed from the use of to serve well, ill, etc., in the senses of branch I. Cf. esp. sense 4 b.]
47. a. To treat in a specified (usually unpleasant or unfair) manner. Now chiefly colloq.
| c 1275 Lay. 9206 He lette smite him of þat heued..and þus he ȝam sareuede euerechone. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 624 Ȝif alle luþer holers were iserued so Me ssolde vinde þe les such spousbruche do. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 584–5 As I his suster serued by nyghte Right so thenke I to serue hym pryuely. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3853 Allas! þat drynke so man serue schal! 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 49 The tree that bryngeth forth no good fruyte shall be serued in lyke wyse. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xxviii. (Arb.) 71 Or else be locked into the Church by the Sexten as I my selfe was once serued reading an Epitaph in a certain cathedrall Church of England. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 248 She is seru'd, As I would serue a Rat. 1693 Dryden Ded. to 3rd Misc. Ess. (1900) II. 10 And no better than thus has Ovid been served by the so-much-admired Sandys. 1727 Gay Fables v. 7 All cowards should be serv'd like you. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xiii, If I served you as you deserve, I should now put my bullet into you. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xvii. 119 On swerving a little..the mass turned over, and let me into the lake. I tried a second one, which served me in the same manner. 1870 Murray's Handbk. Essex, etc. 200 The nave piers have unfortunately been covered with a yellow wash, which..has been removed from some in the S. aisle with very good result. It is much to be wished that all the piers were so served. |
b. to serve (a person) right: to treat (an offender) as he deserves. Now chiefly in phr. it serves (me, you, etc.) right; also colloq. serves (you, etc.) right, (and) serve (you, etc.) right, an exclamation of satisfaction at seeing a person punished for his folly or wrong-doing; also as attrib. phr.
| 1587 Higgins Mirr. Mag., Iago Lenvoy iii, This sleeper..Which for his slouthfull sinne was serued right. c 1640 H. Bell Luther's Colloq. Mens. (1652) 303 The wretch (said Luther) was served right. 1705 tr. Bosman's Guinea 419 What think you, Sir, Were not these Villains right served? 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. 31 They serv'd you right enough! will you never have done with your Horse-play? 1837 Dickens Pickw. xlii, Natural death—..workhouse funeral—serve him right—all over. 1839 Thackeray Fatal Boots Mar., But papa was stern for once, and vowed that I had been served quite right. 1841 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. ii. Misadvent. at Margate, ‘He's stolen my things and run away!!’—Says she, ‘And sarve you right!!’ 1885 J. Payn Talk of Town I. 99 Confound the fellow!..it would serve him right if they tossed him. 1889 A. Lang Prince Prigio vi. 45 Everyone had heard of his disgrace, and almost everyone cried ‘Serve him right!’ 1935 H. Straumann Newspaper Headlines i. 29 Lastly there is the Daily Worker, the Communist paper, with its serve-him-right attitude. 1946 N. E. Orchard in W. S. Knickerbocker Twentieth Cent. Eng. 164 Another little girl was sent off by herself when she needed punishment and made to read the family genealogy. Today when she visits the cemetery where her forebears lie,..she walks between the tombstones, a ‘serves-you-right’ expression on her face. 1977 New Yorker 15 Aug. 66/2 The widespread serves-them-right judgment that greeted New York's misfortune. |
† 48. Thieves' slang. a. To rob. b. To maim, wound. to serve out and out, to kill (cf. next). Obs.
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Serve, to serve a person, or place, is to rob them; as I serv'd him for his thimble, I rob'd him of his watch; that crib has been served before, that shop has been already robbed, &c. To serve a man, also sometimes signifies to maim, wound, or do him some bodily hurt, and to serve him out and out is to kill him. |
49. to serve out: to punish, take revenge on; to retaliate on (one) for something objectionable. colloq. (orig. pugilistic slang). Also (Hunting slang), to ‘punish’ or smash (a fence).
| 1817 Sporting Mag. L. 18 The butcher was so completely served out, that he resigned all pretensions to victory. 1819 Moore Tom Crib's Memor. (ed. 3) 34 And whosoe'er grew unpolite, The well-bred Champion serv'd him out. 1836 P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 113 I'll serve him out for it. 1862 H. H. Dixon Scott & Sebright 398 This was the third or fourth flight of rails that Cognac, who was very fresh after a frost,..had served out that day. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. 183 I'll serve you out for telling the salmon where I was. 1891 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Mad Tour 9 He set his mind to work to consider how he could best serve me out. |
VI. Technical senses (with various const.).
50. Law. a. To make legal delivery of (a process or writ). Const. on or upon (a person).
| 1442 Rolls of Parlt. V. 43/2 If any Processe of suche Appell..be awardet or servet in othir wyse. 1494 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 238 To the seruing of the breif of ydeotrye vpone the Erle of Suddirland in Inuerness. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 240 To serve the processe of that suite upon him. 1585 Act 27 Eliz. c. 3 §5 The same Privie Seale was duely served..upon the person of the same Heire. 1612 N. Field Woman Weathercock iii. i, You are come to serue a warrant, or a Scitation. 1776 Trial Nundocomar 24/2 Has any notice been served upon you by Mr. Jarut? 1798 Dallas Amer. Law Rep. II. 335 An attachment must be served by the marshall. 1896 Law Times C. 488/1 The vestry served a notice on the respondent, calling upon him to repair the drain. |
| fig. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 1780 The deepe vexation of his inward soule, Hath seru'd a dumbe arrest vpon his tongue. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxi, Some frank..girl would have been the only one likely to serve a writ on the jovial attorney's heart. 1847 De Quincey Sp. Mil. Nun x. (1853) 22 Notice to quit was now served pretty liberally. |
b. To present (a person) with a writ. Also, to serve in (cf. 31 c).
| 1575 in D. King Vale-Royal (1656) i. 88 For which cause, he was served by a Pursevant from York. 1630 Banquet of Jests 135 A Waiting Gentlewoman being summoned into a Court to take an Oath (for she was serued in with a sub pœna) The Examiner asked how [etc.]. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. 137 Never before was the Bishops served with such a prohibition. 1839 De Quincey Recoll. Lakes Wks. 1862 II. 199 The holder of that place or fortune was immediately served with a summons to surrender it. |
c. Scots Law. To declare (a person) heir to an estate, by the affirmative verdict of an ‘inquest’ or jury appointed to adjudicate the claim. Const. † of (an estate); now only with compl., to serve (a person) heir to.
? An erroneous shortening of the phr. to serve and retour: see retour v. 3.
| 1506 Reg. Privy Seal Scot. I. 174 The inqueist that servit him of his breif of the said vi merkis worth of land. 1533 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. VI. 138 Ane inquest that servit Richert, umquhile lord Inuermeith, of..the landis of Inuermeith. 1582 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 558 He sall entir and obtene himself servit air as use is within the space of thrie termes. 1637 Rutherford Lett. (1664) 54 O that he would..serve himself Heir to the poor mean portion I have. 1693 Stair Inst. Law Scot. iii. iv. (ed. 2) 449 Other Heirs..cannot be served Heirs, but by a special Service, serving them to such particulars, whereunto they succeed, by Infeftment or Provision. 1815 Scott Guy M. l, We must pass over his father, and serve him heir to his grandfather Lewis. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. xvi. (1857) 356 After getting myself served heir to my father before the Court of the Canongate. 1893 Stevenson Catriona i, To-day I was served heir to my position in life. |
| absol. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Breve de morte antecessoris, Gif the persones of inquest..deliveris and servis Negative, in favoures of the defender. |
51. Tennis (and similar games). † a. intr. To act as assistant or marker. Also ? trans. (see quot. 1611).
| 1531 in Privy Purse Exp. Hen. VIII (1827) 180 Paid to one that served on the kinges side at Tennes at hampton-courte, in Rewarde, vs. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 951 Nacqueter, to serve at tennes. 1611 Cotgr., Naquet, the boy that serues, or stops the ball after the first bound, to make a better chace, at Tennis. Naqueter, to serue (or stop) a ball at Tennis. |
b. intr. To start play by striking the ball into the opposite court.
| 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 296 Datatim ludere..to serue or to tosse from hand to hand. 1611 Cotgr., Blouse, a close Tennis court,..hauing a house on either side to serue on. 1878 J. Marshall Ann. Tennis 162 The server continues to serve until two chases be made. |
c. trans. To put (the ball) in play.
| 1696 R. H. Sch. Recreation 97 Love is the Court, Hope is the House, And Favour serves the Ball. 1837 D. Walker Games & Sports 255 The player who commences..must serve the first ball over a red line marked upon the wall. 1878 J. Marshall Ann. Tennis 161 The ball served must be struck with the racket. |
d. To strike the ball to (one's opponent); to ‘feed’ with the ball. Also fig.
| 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xliii. 111 And as at Tenis the Dane and Bishop served each other with the fond Countrey man. 1849 Boy's Own Bk. 29 (Rounders) Another in-player takes up the bat, and is served or fed with the ball. |
52. Of a male animal: To cover (the female); esp. of stallions, bulls, etc. kept and hired out for the purpose. Also absol.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 148 b, At halfe a yeere old they [boars] are able to serue a sowe. 1621 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 248 Given to Sir Raphe's man, when the little black mare was served at the Abbie, ijs vj{supd}. 1714 Gay Sheph. Week Tuesd. 106 Then saw the cow well serv'd, and took a groat. 1837 Youatt Sheep 317 Ewes to be served by more than one ram. 1885 Bell's Life 15 June 1/2 Camballo will serve a limited number of mares at 70 sovs. each. 1909 Ruff's Guide to Turf iv. 145 List of principal stallions serving in 1909. |
53. a. Falconry. To drive out game into the view of (the hawk). Said of the falconer or of the dog.
| 1576 Fleming tr. Caius' Dogs ii. (1880) 14 Of gentle Dogges seruing the hauke. 1891 Harting Bibl. Accipitr. 229 Serving a hawk, helping to put out the quarry from covert. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 373/2 (Falconry) Serve (of the falconer), to put out the quarry from the cover for the falcon waiting overhead. |
b. Coursing. (See quot. 1897.)
| 1576 Turberv. Venerie 249 If there be no Cotes gyuen betwene a brase of Greyhounds, but the one of them serueth the other at turnyng. a 1600 in Markham Country Contentm. i. vii. (1615) 105 If one dogge turne the Hare, serue himselfe, and turne her againe, those two turnes shall be as much as a coate. 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 210/1 (Coursing) When a dog turns his hare, and keeps his place for another turn, he serves himself; or, losing his place, serves his opponent. |
54. Chiefly Naut. [Formerly often in form sarve.] a. To bind (a rope, rod, etc.) with small cord or the like, so as to protect or strengthen.
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 25 To sarue any rope with plats or Sinnet, is..to lay Sinnet, Spun yarne, Rope yarne, or a peece of Canuas vpon the rope, and then rowle it fast to keepe the rope from galling. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 64 Ropes..served close..with Yarn. 1775 N. D. Falck Day's Diving Vessel 54 The eyes, as well as the splice by which they were bent, were also served with inch rope. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. x. (ed. 2) 360 Two men can worm and serve seven fathoms of 3½ inch rope in an hour. 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 232 It [the copper conductor] is then served with a covering of tape which has been well soaked in Stockholm tar. 1895 ‘J. Bickerdyke’ Sea Fishing 60 For the simpler binding, intended merely to act as a protection.., we say we ‘serve’ the line rather than ‘whip’ it. |
b. To wrap (a rope, bandage) round an object.
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (Sommer) 295 Parthenia laid his head in her lap, tearing of her linnen sleeues & partlet, to serue about his wounds. 1806 A. Duncan Life Nelson 43 Her hull had long been kept together by cables served round. 1870 Eng. Mech. 11 Mar. 625/3 Over which a tarred rope..is ‘served’ or wrapped. |
55. Mil. a. To operate, keep in play or action (a gun, battery, etc.).
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Serve a Battery..is to see that the Guns play well. 1747 Gentl. Mag. 344 A constant fire of a numerous and well serv'd artillery. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 611 The cannon,..though ill served, brought the engagement to a speedy close. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. i, The enemy's cannonade, which was very hot and well served. 1876 Doubleday Forts Sumter & Moultrie 163 An artillery-man, serving his gun. |
b. to serve the vent: to close the vent of a muzzle-loading gun while it is being loaded.
| 1828 Spearman Brit. Gunner (ed. 2) 175 Number..2, sponges; 3, loads; 4, serves the vent and primes. |
VII. 56. Comb.: † serve-image, an idolater.
| 1530 Tindale Answ. More Wks. (1573) 272/1 So art thou an Idolater, that is to say in Englishe, a serue Image. |
☛ For to serve one's (a, the) turn (in various senses), see turn n.
Hence served ppl. a. (chiefly with prefixed adverb).
| 1747 [see 55]. 1884 Ruskin Bible of Amiens i. 1 At this halting-place in mid-journey there is a well-served buffet. 1907 Wyndham Flare of Footlights i, The well-chosen and perfectly served dinner. |
▪ V. † serve, v.2 Obs. Chiefly Sc. and north.
Also 3 sareve, 4–6 (chiefly Sc.) serf, Sc. serwe, 5 sarve.
[App. aphetic a. OF. deservir deserve v. It may, however, be a use of serve v.1, as the sense ‘to gain by serving’ may have been developed in the simple vb.; cf. It. servire to merit, deserve.]
1. trans. To earn or acquire a right to; to become, or to be, worthy of (reward or punishment, praise or blame); to merit; = deserve v. 1, 2.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1686 Oc serf me seuene oðer ȝer, If ðu salt rachel seruen her. a 1300 Cursor M. 15849 Forsoth i neuer serued it, in dede ne yeitt in sau. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 553 More haf we serued..Þat suffred han þe dayez hete. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 573 Þar-for, me think, I serwe no blame quhen I say: god luffis [etc.]. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1315 My lorde meruailles hym mekylle,..Why thow morthires his mene, that no mysse serues. c 1400 Rule of St. Benet (verse) 614 Vn-to hell we suld take hede, And were vs euer with al our mayn Fro filth of sin, þat sarues payn. c 1430 Chev. Assigne 194 For þe sauynge of hem þanke þou haste seruethe. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 298 Quhat blame serve we now..that brekis Goddis bidding. 1513 Douglas æneis i. Prol. 78 Quhar I offend, the les repreif serf I. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 195 It is tyme to seik your reward quhan ye haue serwed it. 1721 Kelly Scot. Prov. 319 They give you less wite than you serve. |
b. with inf. or clause as obj.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9089 Sin i haf serued to haue þe scam, Gis me mi scrift, o godds name! c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 951 (Kölbing) Þei sche haue serued to be spilt, Þe child þer of haþ no gilt. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4900, Y serued neuere he scholde so do! c 1400 Apol. Loll. (Camden) 26 In þis maner of curse þat men curse man iustli for his misdede, was Crist not cursid, for He seruid not to be cursid. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxv. 81 And how nane servis to haif sweitness That nevir taistit bitterness. c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 335 Thow seruis weill on Rakkis to be rent. |
2. intr. or absol. = deserve v. 3.
| c 1275 Lay. 24154 And he þare eche cnihtes he ȝef alle hire rihtes, ech one he ȝaf heahte ase hii i-sareued [c 1205 iærned] hadde. c 1400 Destr. Troy 550 Þat ȝe me faith make, In dede for to do as I desyre wille, And my wille for to wirke, if I wele serue. c 1440 York Myst. ii. (Playsterers) 8 To suffir sorowe on soght, syne þai haue seruid so. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 866 As we haue serued, gif vs our mede. c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 361 Sayand, curst knaif thow sall haif afflictioun As thow did serue, rise, and resaif thy bill. 1575 Mirr. Mag., Manlius xiv, We either are rewarded, as we serue; Or else are plaged, as our deedes deserue. |
▪ VI. † serve, v.3 Obs. rare.
[ad. L. servāre, or aphetic form of preserve v.]
trans. To preserve.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 513 And in this wise he serued his entente That saue the feend noon wiste what he mente. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vi. xv. 207 Thenne wold I haue baumed hit [thy body] and serued hit and soo haue kepte it my lyfe dayes. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 304 Whiche gathered diligently thou shalt serve in a phyall of glas. |