Serb

S1E1R1B3
US/sɝb/UK/sɜːb/British, Southern, Standard/səːb/Scotland/sɛɾb/

noun

A person of Serb descent (not necessarily from Serbia). (Compare Serbian.)

Similar
Serbian
OriginSerbo-Croatian Срби /Srbi ← Proto-Slavic *sьrbъ ← Proto-Indo-European *ser- →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

nounSerb (plural Serbs)

plural Serbs

  1. A person of Serb descent (not necessarily from Serbia). (Compare Serbian.)

    Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors.

    2023 May 30, Christian Edwards, “Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo? Here’s what we know”, in CNN
    1 more example

    No one knows where Serbian Prince Lazar fell, but a stone tower honors him and the other "heroes of Kosovo." In the summer of 1989 on the 600th anniversary of the battle a million Serbs came to this hilltop.

    1990 August, Kenneth C. Danforth, “Yugoslavia: A House Much Divided”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 100
adjectiveSerb (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or pertaining to the Serbs; Serbian.

    A prominent Kosovo Serb politician, Oliver Ivanovic, was shot dead outside his party offices Tuesday morning, halting talks between Kosovar and Serb delegates that had been set to resume that day.

    2018 January 16, Milena Veselinovic and Sheena McKenzie, “Leading Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic shot dead outside office”, in CNN

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna member of a Slavic people who settled in Serbia and neighboring areas in the 6th and 7th centuries

Similar
Serbian
Broader
Slav
Also see
serbian

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ser-
  2. Proto-Slavic*sьrbъ
  3. Serbo-CroatianСрби /Srbi
  4. EnglishSerb

From Serbo-Croatian Срби /Srbi, from Proto-Slavic *sьrbъ (“ally, Serb, Sorb”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to protect, watch over”); akin to Latin servo (“to guard, to protect”), Old English searu (“weapons, armor”), Lithuanian sárgas (“watchman”), Ancient Greek ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero”), Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (haraⁱti), 𐬵𐬀𐬎𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (haᵘruuaⁱti, “to guard”). Doublet of Sorb.

More words from Serbo-Croatian, Proto-Slavic, Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans Serwiër
  • Serwiërperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Arabic صِرْبِيّ, صِرْبِيَّة
  • صِرْبِيّ (ṣirbiyy)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • صِرْبِيَّة (ṣirbiyya)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Bengali সার্ব
  • সার্ব (śarbo)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Bulgarian съ́рбин, сръбки́ня
  • съ́рбин (sắrbin)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • сръбки́ня (srăbkínja)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • сръ́бче (srắbče)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • съ́рбинче (sắrbinče)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • сръбки́нче (srăbkínče)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Catalan serb, serba
  • serbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Chinese Mandarin 塞爾維亞人 /塞尔维亚人, 塞族
  • 塞爾維亞人 /塞尔维亚人 (sài'ěrwéiyàrén)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • 塞族 (Sàizú)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Czech Srb, Srbka
  • Srbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Srbkaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Danish serber
  • serberperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Dutch Serviër, Servische
  • Serviërperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Servischeperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Esperanto serbo, serbino
  • serboperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbinoperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Estonian serblane
  • serblaneperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Finnish serbi
  • serbiperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
French Serbe
  • Serbeperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
German Serbe, Serbin
  • Serbeperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Serbinperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Greek Σέρβος
  • Σέρβος (Sérvos)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Hebrew סרבי, סרבית
  • סרבי (servi)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • סרבית (servít)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Hindi सर्ब
  • सर्ब (sarb)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Hungarian szerb
  • szerbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Icelandic Serbi
  • Serbiperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Irish Seirbiach
  • Seirbiachperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Italian serbo
  • serboperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Japanese セルビア人
  • セルビア人 (serubiajin)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Korean 세르비아인, 세르비아 사람
  • 세르비아인 (sereubiain)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • 세르비아 사람 (sereubia saram)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Latvian serbs, serbiete
  • serbsperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbieteperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Lithuanian serbas, serbė
  • serbasperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbėperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Norwegian Bokmål serber
  • serberperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Persian صرب
  • صرب (serb)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Polish Serb, Serbka
  • Serbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Serbkaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Portuguese sérvio, sérvia
  • sérvioperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • sérviaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Romanian sârb, sârbă
  • sârbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • sârbăperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • sârboaicăperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Russian серб, се́рбка
  • серб (serb)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • се́рбка (sérbka)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Slovak Srb, Srbka
  • Srbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Srbkaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Spanish serbio, serbia
  • serbioperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbiaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • servioperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Swedish serb, serbiska
  • serbperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • serbiskaperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Tagalog Serbyo, Serbo-Croatian
  • Serbyoperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Serbo-Croatianperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Turkish Sırp, Sırbistanlı
  • Sırpperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • Sırbistanlıperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Ukrainian се́рбин, серб
  • се́рбин (sérbyn)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • серб (serb)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
  • се́рбка (sérbka)person of Serb descent — see also Serbian
Vietnamese người Xéc-bi
  • người Xéc-biperson of Serb descent — see also Serbian

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Serb

superbherbverbcurbdisturbrefurbreverbblurbkerbperturbburbgerbegerbacerbbirbdeturb
All rhymes →

Anagrams

BSer
Cite this entry
APA

Serb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serb

MLA

“Serb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serb. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Serb,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serb.

Source: Serb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.