service
1. ser.vice \'s*r-v*s\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr. L servitium condition of a slave,
body of slaves, fr. Xservus slave 1: the occupation or function of serving
{in active ~}; specif : employment as a servant {entered his ~} 2a: the
work or action performed by one that serves {gives good and quick ~} 2b:
HELP, USE, BENEFIT {be of ~ to them} 2c: contribution to the welfare of
others 2d: disposal for use {at your ~} 3a: a form followed in worship or
in a religous ceremony {the burial ~ } 3b: a meeting for worship {held an
evening ~} 4: the act of serving : as 4a: a helpful act : good turn {did
him a ~} 4b: useful labor that does not produce a tangible commodity -
usu. used i n pl. {charge for professional ~s} 4c: SERVE 5: a set of
articles for a particular use {a silver ~ for 12} 6: an administrative
division (as of a government or business) {the consu lar ~} : one of a
nation's military forces {called into the ~} 7: a facility supplying some
public demand {bus ~}; specif : one providing maintenance and repair
{television ~} 8: the materials used for serving (as a rope)
2. service aj 1a: of or relating to the armed services 1b: of, relating
to, or constituting a branch of an army that exists to pr ovide service and
supplies 2: used in serving or supplying 3: intended for everyday use :
DURABLE 4a: providing services or producer goods 4b: offering repair,
mahntenance, or inchdental services
3. service vt : to perform services for : as : to repair or provide
maintenance for : to meet interest and sinking fund payments on debt (as
government debt ) : to perform any of the business functions auxiliary to
production or di stribution
4. ser.vice \'sa:r-v*s, 's*r-\ n [ME serves, pl. of serve serviceberry,
service tree, fr. OE syrf]e, fr. (assumed) VL sorbea, fr. L sorbus service
tree : an Old World tree (Sorbus domestica) resembling the related mounta
in ashes but having larger flowers and larger edible fruit; also : a
related Old World tree (S. torminalis) with bitter fruits
Webster's English Dictionary