Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Service

{

Serv′ice

,
Noun.
, or

Serv′ice

}
.
[Properly, the tree which bears
serve
, OE.
serves
, pl., service berries, AS.
syrfe
service tree; akin to L.
sorbus
.]
(Bot.)
A name given to several trees and shrubs of the genus
Pyrus
, as
Pyrus domestica
and
Pyrus torminalis
of Europe, the various species of mountain ash or rowan tree, and the American shad bush (see
Shad bush
, under
Shad
). They have clusters of small, edible, applelike berries.
Service berry
(Bot.)
,
the fruit of any kind of service tree. In British America the name is especially applied to that of the several species or varieties of the shad bush (
Amelanchier
.)

Serv′ice

,
Noun.
[OE.
servise
, OF.
servise
,
service
, F.
service
, from L.
servitium
. See
Serve
.]
1.
The act of serving; the occupation of a servant; the performance of labor for the benefit of another, or at another’s command; attendance of an inferior, hired helper, slave, etc., on a superior, employer, master, or the like; also, spiritual obedience and love.
“O God . . . whose service is perfect freedom.”
Bk. of Com. Prayer.
Madam, I entreat true peace of you,
Which I will purchase with my duteous
service
.
Shakespeare
God requires no man's
service
upon hard and unreasonable terms.
Tillotson.
2.
The deed of one who serves; labor performed for another; duty done or required; office.
I have served him from the hour of my nativity, . . . and have nothing at his hands for my
service
but blows.
Shakespeare
This poem was the last piece of
service
I did for my master, King Charles.
Dryden.
To go on the forlorn hope is a
service
of peril; who will understake it if it be not also a
service
of honor?
Macaulay.
3.
Office of devotion; official religious duty performed; religious rites appropriate to any event or ceremonial;
as, a burial
service
.
The outward
service
of ancient religion, the rites, ceremonies, and ceremonial vestments of the old law.
Coleridge.
4.
Hence, a musical composition for use in churches.
5.
Duty performed in, or appropriate to, any office or charge; official function; hence, specifically, military or naval duty; performance of the duties of a soldier.
When he cometh to experience of
service
abroad . . . ne maketh a worthy soldier.
Spenser.
6.
Useful office; advantage conferred; that which promotes interest or happiness; benefit; avail.
The stork's plea, when taken in a net, was the
service
she did in picking up venomous creatures.
L'Estrange.
7.
Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed.
“Pray, do my service to his majesty.”
Shak.
8.
The act and manner of bringing food to the persons who eat it; order of dishes at table; also, a set or number of vessels ordinarily used at table;
as, the
service
was tardy and awkward; a
service
of plate or glass
.
There was no extraordinary
service
seen on the board.
Hakewill.
9.
(Law)
The act of bringing to notice, either actually or constructively, in such manner as is prescribed by law;
as, the
service
of a subpœna or an attachment
.
10.
(Naut.)
The materials used for serving a rope, etc., as spun yarn, small lines, etc.
11.
(Tennis)
The act of serving the ball.
12.
Act of serving or covering. See
Serve
,
Verb.
T.
, 13.
Service book
,
a prayer book or missal.
–
Service line
(Tennis)
,
a line parallel to the net, and at a distance of 21 feet from it.
–
Service of a writ
,
process
, etc.
(Law)
,
personal delivery or communication of the writ or process, etc., to the party to be affected by it, so as to subject him to its operation; the reading of it to the person to whom notice is intended to be given, or the leaving of an attested copy with the person or his attorney, or at his usual place of abode.
–
Service of an attachment
(Law)
,
the seizing of the person or goods according to the direction.
–
Service of an execution
(Law)
,
the levying of it upon the goods, estate, or person of the defendant.
–
Service pipe
,
a pipe connecting mains with a dwelling, as in gas pipes, and the like.
Tomlinson.
–
To accept service
.
(Law)
See under
Accept
.
–
To see service
(Mil.)
,
to do duty in the presence of the enemy, or in actual war.

Webster 1828 Edition

Service

SERV'ICE

,
Noun.
[From L. servitium.]
1. In a general sense, labor of body or of body and mind, performed at the command of a superior, or the pursuance of duty, or for the benefit of another. Service is voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary service is that of hired servants, or of contract, or of persons who spontaneously perform something for another's benefit. Involuntary service is that of slaves, who work by compulsion.
2. The business of a servant; menial office.
3. Attendance of a servant.
4. Place of a servant; actual employment of a servant; as, to be out of service.
5. Any thing done by way of duty to a superior.
This poem was the last piece of service I did for my master king Charles.

Definition 2024

Service

Service

See also: service and sèrvice

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsœɐ̯vɪs/, or less commonly IPA(key): /ˈzœɐ̯vɪs/

Noun

Service m ‎(genitive Service, plural Services)

  1. service (e.g. in a restaurant)
    Der Service hier ist sehr gut.‎
    The service is very good here.
Synonyms

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowing from French service.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /zɛʁˈviːs/, /zɛɐ̯ˈviːs/ (singular)
  • IPA(key): /zɛʁˈviːsə/, /zɛɐ̯ˈviːsə/ (plural)

Noun

Service n ‎(genitive Services, plural Service)

  1. (dishes) service, set
    Dieses Service ist noch von meiner Mutter.‎
    This service belonged to my mother.

Derived terms

  • Kaffeeservice
  • Teeservice

service

service

See also: Service and sèrvice

English

Noun

service ‎(plural services)

  1. An act of being of assistance to someone.
    I say I did him a service by ending our relationship - now he can freely pursue his career.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.
  2. (economics) The practice of providing such a service as economic activity.
    Hair care is a service industry.‎
    • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
      The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing", […] and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
  3. A department in a company, an organization, a government department, etc.
  4. (computing) A function that is provided by one program or machine for another.
    This machine provides the name service for the LAN.‎
  5. The state of being subordinate to or employed by an individual or group
    Lancelot was at the service of King Arthur.‎
  6. The military.
    I did three years in the service before coming here.‎
  7. A set of dishes or utensils.
    She brought out the silver tea service.‎
  8. (sports) The act of initially starting, or serving, the ball in play in tennis, volleyball, and other games.
    The player had four service faults in the set.‎
  9. A religious rite or ritual.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
    The funeral service was touching.‎
  10. (law) The serving, or delivery, of a summons or writ.
    • 1668 July 3, James Dalrymple, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew Houſtoun” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 548:
      He Suſpends on theſe Reaſons, that Thomas Rue had granted a general Diſcharge to Adam Muſhet, who was his Conjunct, and correus debendi, after the alleadged Service, which Diſcharged Muſhet, and conſequently Houstoun his Partner.
    The service happened yesterday.‎
  11. (Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, Israel, West Bank) A taxi shared among unrelated passengers, each of whom pays part of the fare; often, it has a fixed route between cities.
  12. A musical composition for use in churches.
  13. (obsolete) Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed.
    • Shakespeare
      Pray, do my service to his majesty.
  14. (nautical) The materials used for serving a rope, etc., such as spun yarn and small lines.
Usage notes

In British English, the indefinite article "a" is often used with “good service”, as in "A good service is operating on all London Underground lines", whereas this is not used in American English.

Antonyms
  • (action or work that is produced and consumed): good
  • capital
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Verb

service ‎(third-person singular simple present services, present participle servicing, simple past and past participle serviced)

  1. (transitive) To serve.
    They service the customer base.‎
  2. (transitive) To perform maintenance.
    He is going to service the car.‎
  3. (transitive, agriculture, euphemistic) To inseminate through sexual intercourse
  4. (transitive, vulgar) To perform a sexual act.
    He was going to service her.‎
Translations
Descendants

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: play · remained · bear · #583: service · various · u · gold

Etymology 2

Noun

service ‎(plural services)

  1. service tree

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowing from English service.

Pronunciation

  • Hyphenation: ser‧vice

Noun

service f, m ‎(plural services)

  1. service

French

Etymology

From Old French servise, borrowed from Latin servitium (compare Portuguese serviço, Italian servizio, Norman sèrvice, Spanish servicio), from servus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɛʁ.vis/

Noun

service m ‎(plural services)

  1. service
  2. (tennis) service
  3. (Switzerland, in the plural) cutlery

Interjection

service

  1. (Switzerland) you're welcome

Anagrams

Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French servise, (compare French service), from Latin servitium, from servus.

Noun

service m ‎(plural services)

  1. (Guernsey) service

Old French

Noun

service m ‎(oblique plural services, nominative singular services, nominative plural service)

  1. Alternative form of servise

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

service c

  1. service, the level of comfort offered by assistants and servants (the opposite of self-service)
  2. maintenance and repair
    min bil är inne på service‎
    my car is at the workshop

Declension

Related terms

See also

Etymology

Borrowing from English service.

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