South European serf, briefly (4)
I believe the answer is:
slav
'south european' is the definition.
'slav' can be an answer for 'european' (I've seen this in another clue). I am unsure of the 'south' bit.
'serf briefly' is the wordplay.
'serf' becomes 'slave' (I've seen this in another clue).
'briefly' means to remove the last letter.
'slave' with its final letter taken off is 'SLAV'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for slav that I've seen before include "European perhaps" , "East European - Asian Russian" , "eg a Pole" , "One coming from Eastern Europe or Asian Russia" , "One of the European people" .)