Serf

Serf (Lat. servus, 'a slave'), the term usually given to the villeins of mediæval Europe, and to the unfree peasants of Russia. The serf was distinguished in a general way from the slave by being attached to the land and having certain definite rights, whereas the slave was the absolute chattel of his master. But serfdom falls to be treated as part of the subject of Slavery (q.v.).