A servant is a person who works in someone else's household, doing tasks like cooking, cleaning, or caring for children. Throughout most of history, wealthy families employed servants to help run their large homes. In England during the 1800s, a grand house might have dozens of servants: maids who cleaned rooms, cooks who prepared meals, butlers who managed the household, and gardeners who tended the grounds.

The word also describes anyone who serves others or works for a cause larger than themselves. A public servant is someone who works for the government or community, like a police officer, teacher, or postal worker. We sometimes call elected officials public servants because they're supposed to serve the interests of the people who elected them.

You might hear someone say they're a servant of justice or a servant of science, meaning they dedicate their work to these ideals. In older stories and fairy tales, characters often describe themselves as “your humble servant” as a formal, polite way of offering help.

The word servant shouldn't be confused with slave. A servant is paid for their work and can leave, while a slave is forced to work without pay or freedom. This distinction matters greatly when understanding history and treating everyone with dignity.