subserve
UK /səbˈsɜːv/ · US /səbˈsɚv/ verb
Forms subserves subserving subserved
- verb To be subservient to.
- verb To serve to promote (an end); to be useful to.
- verb To assist in carrying out.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin subservire; by surface analysis, sub- + serve.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To serve in subordination or instrumentally; to be subservient to; to help forward; to promote.
- verb To be subservient or subordinate; to serve in an inferior capacity.
Etymology [L. subservire; sub under + servire to serve. See Serve.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “subserve”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details