Service refers to an act of being of assistance to someone. It commonly describes the practice of providing such a service as economic activity, a department in a company, an organization, a government department, etc, and a function that is provided by one program or machine for another, which gives the term a broader and more practical sense than a single short definition would suggest. Depending on context, it can also point to the state of being subordinate to or employed by an individual or group, the military, and a set of dishes or utensils, so the category can cover literal uses, related ideas, and more figurative extensions of the same core meaning. Taken together, these meanings present Service as a flexible theme rather than a narrowly technical label, covering the central idea people usually mean when they use the word while still leaving room for closely related senses that appear in real language. Additional shades of meaning include the act of initially starting, or serving, the ball in play in tennis, volleyball, and other games, a religious rite or ritual, the serving, or delivery, of a summons or writ, a musical composition for use in churches, and profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed, which reinforce how the category can stretch across adjacent but still recognizable uses of the same term.
