Serb, n. and a.
(sɜːb)
Also 9 Syrbe.
[a. Serbian Srb, Serb. Cf. F. Serbe.]
A. n.
1. † a. A Wend of Lusatia. (Cf. Sorb.) Obs. b. A native of Serbia, a Serbian.
| 1813 Q. Rev. X. 283 The Serbs or Wends came about the same time into the countries between the Saal and the Oder. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 103/2 The Syrbes or Wends, who inhabit Lusatia. 1861 Mill Repr. Govt. xvi. 292 The population of Hungary is composed of Magyars, Slovacks, Croats, Serbs, Roumans, and in some districts, Germans. 1866 Chamb. Encycl. VIII. 629/2 (art. Servia) Every Serb carries arms. 1883 Morfill Slav. Lit. ii. 33 The Serbs have, unlike the Russians and other Slavs, kept their old name. |
2. The Serbian language.
| 1886 Fortn. Rev. Jan. 146 Serb became a proscribed tongue. 1905 Macm. Mag. Nov. 40 Everyone, whether Christian or Moslem, speaks Serb only. |
B. adj. Serbian.
| 1876 A. J. Evans Through Bosnia i. 16 The barbarous Serb races who settled in the Danubian basin in the fifth and succeeding centuries. |