From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
service
n 1: work done by one person or group that benefits another;
"budget separately for goods and services"
2: an act of help or assistance; "he did them a service" [ant:
disservice, ill service, ill turn]
3: the act of public worship following prescribed rules; "the
Sunday service" [syn: service, religious service, {divine
service}]
4: a company or agency that performs a public service; subject
to government regulation
5: employment in or work for another; "he retired after 30 years
of service"
6: a force that is a branch of the armed forces [syn: {military
service}, armed service, service]
7: Canadian writer (born in England) who wrote about life in the
Yukon Territory (1874-1958) [syn: Service, {Robert William
Service}]
8: a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it"
[syn: avail, help, service]
9: tableware consisting of a complete set of articles (silver or
dishware) for use at table [syn: service, table service]
10: the act of mating by male animals; "the bull was worth good
money in servicing fees" [syn: servicing, service]
11: (law) the acts performed by an English feudal tenant for the
benefit of his lord which formed the consideration for the
property granted to him
12: (sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play; "his powerful
serves won the game" [syn: serve, service]
13: the act of delivering a writ or summons upon someone; "he
accepted service of the subpoena" [syn: service,
serving, service of process]
14: periodic maintenance on a car or machine; "it was time for
an overhaul on the tractor" [syn: overhaul, {inspection
and repair}, service]
15: the performance of duties by a waiter or servant; "that
restaurant has excellent service"
v 1: be used by; as of a utility; "The sewage plant served the
neighboring communities"; "The garage served to shelter his
horses" [syn: service, serve]
2: make fit for use; "service my truck"; "the washing machine
needs to be serviced"
3: mate with; "male animals serve the females for breeding
purposes" [syn: serve, service]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Service \Serv"ice\, n., or Service \Serv"ice\ [Properly, the
tree which bears serve, OE. serves, pl., service berries, AS.
syrfe service tree; akin to L. sorbus.] (Bot.)
A name given to several trees and shrubs of the genus
Pyrus, as Pyrus domestica and Pyrus torminalis of
Europe, the various species of mountain ash or rowan tree,
and the American shad bush (see Shad bush, under Shad).
They have clusters of small, edible, applelike berries.
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Service berry (Bot.), the fruit of any kind of service
tree. In British America the name is especially applied to
that of the several species or varieties of the shad bush
(Amelanchier.)
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Service \Serv"ice\, n. [OE. servise, OF. servise, service, F.
service, from L. servitium. See Serve.]
1. The act of serving; the occupation of a servant; the
performance of labor for the benefit of another, or at
another's command; attendance of an inferior, hired
helper, slave, etc., on a superior, employer, master, or
the like; also, spiritual obedience and love. "O God . . .
whose service is perfect freedom." --Bk. of Com. Prayer.
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Madam, I entreat true peace of you,
Which I will purchase with my duteous service.
--Shak.
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God requires no man's service upon hard and
unreasonable terms. --Tillotson.
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2. The deed of one who serves; labor performed for another;
duty done or required; office.
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I have served him from the hour of my nativity, . .
. and have nothing at his hands for my service but
blows. --Shak.
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This poem was the last piece of service I did for my
master, King Charles. --Dryden.
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To go on the forlorn hope is a service of peril; who
will understake it if it be not also a service of
honor? --Macaulay.
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3. Office of devotion; official religious duty performed;
religious rites appropriate to any event or ceremonial;
as, a burial service.
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The outward service of ancient religion, the rites,
ceremonies, and ceremonial vestments of the old law.
--Coleridge.
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4. Hence, a musical composition for use in churches.
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5. Duty performed in, or appropriate to, any office or
charge; official function; hence, specifically, military
or naval duty; performance of the duties of a soldier.
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When he cometh to experience of service abroad . . .
ne maketh a worthy soldier. --Spenser.
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6. Useful office; advantage conferred; that which promotes
interest or happiness; benefit; avail.
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The stork's plea, when taken in a net, was the
service she did in picking up venomous creatures.
--L'Estrange.
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7. Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed. "Pray,
do my service to his majesty." --Shak.
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8. The act and manner of bringing food to the persons who eat
it; order of dishes at table; also, a set or number of
vessels ordinarily used at table; as, the service was
tardy and awkward; a service of plate or glass.
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There was no extraordinary service seen on the
board. --Hakewill.
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9. (Law) The act of bringing to notice, either actually or
constructively, in such manner as is prescribed by law;
as, the service of a subp[oe]na or an attachment.
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10. (Naut.) The materials used for serving a rope, etc., as
spun yarn, small lines, etc.
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11. (Tennis) The act of serving the ball.
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12. Act of serving or covering. See Serve, v. t., 13.
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Service book, a prayer book or missal.
Service line (Tennis), a line parallel to the net, and at a
distance of 21 feet from it.
Service of a writ, process, etc. (Law), personal delivery
or communication of the writ or process, etc., to the
party to be affected by it, so as to subject him to its
operation; the reading of it to the person to whom notice
is intended to be given, or the leaving of an attested
copy with the person or his attorney, or at his usual
place of abode.
Service of an attachment (Law), the seizing of the person
or goods according to the direction.
Service of an execution (Law), the levying of it upon the
goods, estate, or person of the defendant.
Service pipe, a pipe connecting mains with a dwelling, as
in gas pipes, and the like. --Tomlinson.
To accept service. (Law) See under Accept.
To see service (Mil.), to do duty in the presence of the
enemy, or in actual war.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Rounding \Round"ing\, n.
1. (Naut.) Small rope, or strands of rope, or spun yarn,
wound round a rope to keep it from chafing; -- called also
service.
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2. (Phonetics) Modifying a speech sound by contraction of the
lip opening; labializing; labialization. See Guide to
Pronunciation, [sect] 11.
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From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008) [foldoc]:
service
<networking, programming> Work performed (or offered) by a
server. This may mean simply serving simple requests for
data to be sent or stored (as with file servers, gopher or
http servers, e-mail servers, finger servers, SQL
servers, etc.); or it may be more complex work, such as that
of irc servers, print servers, X Windows servers, or
process servers.
E.g. "Access to the finger service is restricted to the
local subnet, for security reasons".
(1997-09-11)