Both Uses of
servile
in
The Picture of Dorian Gray - 20 chapter version
- 'Have a box, my Lord?' he said, when he saw me, and he took off his hat with an air of gorgeous servility.†
Chpt 4servility = submissiveness -- often an attitude of someone who is so submissive or eager to serve and please that they seem to lack self-respect
- When his servant entered.... The man was quite impassive, and waited for his orders. Dorian ... could see the reflection of Victor's face perfectly. It was like a placid mask of servility.
Chpt 10 *servility = submissiveness
Definitions:
-
(1)
(servile) too eager to serve or obey others -- often in a way that seems overly submissive, weak, or lacking self-respect
or:
related to low-status tasks -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
You might want to remember this as sounding similar to servant. Both words come from the Latin word for slave (servus).