Brewer's: Serve

I'll serve him out—give a quid pro quo. This is the French server, to do an ill turn to one.

To serve a rope.
To roll something upon it to prevent it from being fretted. The “service” or material employed is spun yarn, small lines, sennit, ropes, old leather, or canvas.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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