in-servĭo, īvi or ĭi, ītum, 4 (archaic forms, inservibas, Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 59: inservibat, Sil. 7, 341), v. n. and (rarely) a., to be serviceable, to be devoted or attached to, to be submissive to, to serve (syn.: deservio, ministro); with dat., rarely with acc. (class.).
- (α) With dat.: filium meum amico suo video inservire, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 9: a quo plurimum sperant, ei potissimum inserviunt, Cic. Off. 1, 15, 49: plebi, cui ad eam diem summa ope inservitum erat, who had been treated with the utmost deference, Liv. 2, 21, 6: legibus definitionis, Gell. 1, 25, 10.
Of inanim. and abstr. things, to be devoted to, to attend to, take care of: suis commodis, Cic. Fin. 2, 35, 117: temporibus, Nep. Alcib. 1: honoribus, Cic. Off. 2, 1, 4: artibus, id. de Or. 1, 4, 13: vocibus, id. Or. 20, 68: famae, Tac. A. 13, 8.
- (β) With acc.: si illum inservibis solum, Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 59; id. Poen. 4, 2, 105; cf.: nihil est a me inservitum temporis causa, Cic. Fam. 6, 12, 2.
- (γ) Absol.: inservientium regum ditissimus, vassal, Tac. H. 2, 81.