subservience
|sub-ser-vi-ence|
🇺🇸
/səbˈsɝviəns/
🇬🇧
/səbˈsɜːvɪəns/
willingness to be subordinate
Etymology
'subservience' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'subservire', where 'sub-' meant 'under' and 'servire' meant 'to serve'.
'subservience' developed from the Late Latin/Medieval Latin form 'subservientia' and from the adjective 'subservient', entering English via Latin/French influence in the early modern period to become the noun 'subservience'.
Initially it referred to the idea of 'serving under' or being in a subordinate service; over time it also acquired the additional sense of 'excessive willingness to obey' or 'servility'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
willingness to serve or to submit to the authority of others; readiness to obey.
Her subservience to the committee's demands made it difficult for her to act independently.
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Noun 2
the condition of being subordinate or of occupying a lower, dependent position.
The treaty reinforced the subservience of the smaller states to the dominant power.
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Noun 3
excessive or servile willingness to yield or comply; servility.
Critics attacked the subservience of the press to corporate advertisers.
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Last updated: 2025/11/19 14:23