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{{About|servitors at universities}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
In certain [[university|universities]] (including some [[Colleges of the University of Oxford|colleges]] of [[University of Oxford]] and the [[University of Edinburgh]]), a '''servitor''' was an [[undergraduate]] student who received free accommodation (and some free meals), and was exempted from paying fees for lectures.  The term is still used at the University of Edinburgh, where it refers to the staff who are responsible for security, mail and reception (similar to [[Porter (college)|porters]] at other universities) and are also on duty at formal occasions, when their functions include carrying the [[Ceremonial mace|mace]] and [[Usher (occupation)|usher]]ing.

At Oxford, servitors were originally expected to act as servants to the [[Fellow#Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin|fellows]] of their college. By 1852, this requirement had largely fallen into disuse, and the term had been replaced (often by [[Clerk (position)|clerk]] or Bible-clerk) at most colleges. The last recorded use of the term in Oxford was in 1867 (at [[Christ Church, Oxford|Christ Church]]; the following year, the same people were called [[exhibitioner]]s).<ref>''servitor'' The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 4 Apr. 2000 [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50220807] Date of access 15 Oct 2006.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sizar]] ([[University of Cambridge]])
* [[Batteler]] ([[University of Oxford]])

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:History of education in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Terminology of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:University of Edinburgh]]


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