serf /sɜːf $ sɜːrf/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin servus ; ⇨ ↑ serve 1 ]
someone in the past who lived and worked on land that they did not own and who had to obey the owner of the land ⇨ peasant
⇨ ↑ slave 1 (1)