ˈsərvəˌtüd, ˈsə̄v-, ˈsəiv-, -və.ˌtyüd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin servitudin-, servitudo, from servus slave, servant + -tudin-, -tudo -tude — more at serve
1. : the condition of a slave or serf : a state of subjection to an owner or master : bondage , serfdom , slavery
neither slavery nor involuntary servitude , except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States — U.S. Constitution
2.
a. : subjection to foreign overlordship or political oppression : subjugation by a conqueror or tyrant
society may be expected to disintegrate and fall into servitude when men deny … these realities and transcendent obligations — Michael Polanyi
b. : a particular imposition or term imposed on a defeated or subject people
meant the overthrow of many of the servitudes placed upon them by the peace treaties — C.E.Black & E.C.Helmreich
3. : a subjection likened to that of slavery : an unworthy subservience
by criticizing religion they would attempt to free the religious spirit from its present servitude — Virginia Woolf
4. archaic : the state of being a servant (as a domestic servant or an indentured servant)
5. archaic : the service of an apprentice : apprenticeship
6. : penal servitude
7. : a right in respect of an object (as land owned by one person) in virtue of which the object is subject to a specified use or enjoyment by another person or for the benefit of another thing
the common-law easement is a species of servitude
— compare negative easement , positive easement