Definitions for: Service


[n] an act of help or assistance; "he did them a service"
[n] the performance of duties by a waiter or servant; "that restaurant has excellent service"
[n] periodic maintenance on a car or machine; "it was time for an overhaul on the tractor"
[n] the act of delivering a writ or summons upon someone; "he accepted service of the subpoena"
[n] a stroke (in tennis or badminton or squash) that puts the ball in play; "his powerful serves won the game"
[n] work done by one person or group that benefits another; "budget separately for goods and services"
[n] (common law) the acts performed by an English feudal tenant for the benefit of his lord which formed the consideration for the property granted to him
[n] employment in or work for another; "he retired after 30 years of service"
[n] the act of mating by male animals; "the bull was worth good money in servicing fees"
[n] the act of public worship following prescribed rules; "the Sunday service"
[n] tableware consisting of a complete set of articles (silver or dishware) for use at table
[n] a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it"
[n] a company or agency that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
[n] a force that is a branch of the armed forces
[n] Canadian writer (born in England) who wrote about life in the Yukon Territory (1874-1958)
[v] make fit for use, as of appliances or cars; "service my truck"
[v] mate with; "male animals serve the females for breeding purposes"
[v] be used by; as of a utility; "The sewage plant served the neighboring communities"; "The garage served to shelter his horses"



Webster (1913) Definition:
1. (Feud. Law) The military service by rendering which a
knight held his lands; also, the tenure of lands held on
condition of performing military service.

By far the greater part of England [in the 13th
century] is held of the king by knight's service. .
. . In order to understand this tenure we must form
the conception of a unit of military service. That
unit seems to be the service of one knight or fully
armed horseman (servitium unius militis) to be done
to the king in his army for forty days in the year,
if it be called for. . . . The limit of forty days
seems to have existed rather in theory than
practice. --Pollock &
Mait.

2. Service such as a knight can or should render; hence, good
or valuable service.


Serv"ice, n., or Service 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 P. 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, n. [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. --Shak.

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. --Shak.

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 subp[oe]na 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, v. 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.

Synonyms: armed service, avail, divine service, help, inspection and repair, military service, overhaul, religious service, Robert William Service, serve, serve, serve, service of process, servicing, serving, table service

Antonyms: disservice, ill service, ill turn

See Also: accommodation, ace, activity, aid, air force, airforce, armed forces, army, assist, assistance, author, bringing, care, chapel, chapel service, child care, childcare, church, church service, coastguard, committal service, community service, company, conjugation, copulate, couple, coupling, delivery, dinner service, dinner set, employment, facility, fault, force, function, go, help, helpfulness, interim overhaul, invocation, knight's service, let, maintenance, mate, mating, military, military force, military group, military service, military unit, naval forces, navy, net ball, none, operate, pair, pairing, personnel, place setting, prayer meeting, prayer service, public service, public utility, public-service corporation, regular army, religious ceremony, religious ritual, run, seating, self-service, setting, sexual union, socage, stand, supplication, tableware, tennis shot, tennis stroke, tune, tune up, union, upkeep, utility, utility, vesper, watch night, work, work, writer

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