seriatim

seriatim

English

WOTD – 16 February 2015

Etymology

From Medieval Latin seriatim, from Latin seriēs (“row, chain”) + -ātim, adverbial suffix.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sɪəɹɪˈeɪtɪm/, /sɛɹɪˈeɪtɪm/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

Adverb

seriatim (not comparable)

1. One after another, in order; taking one topic or subject at a time in an order; sequentially.
   • 1755, W. Massey, Corruptae Latinitatis Index, page 63:

     Seriatim, I know of no good Authority that this Adverb can claim, though it has got a Place in our Dictionaries, and School-Books.

   • 1829, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies: from the papers of Thomas Jefferson, page 337:

     That pen should go on, lay bare these wounds of our constitution, expose these decisions seriatim, and arouse, as it is able, the attention of the nation to these bold speculators on its patience.

   • 1893, “Medical Record”, in George F. Shrady, editor,(Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 43, page 570:

     The author then took up each step seriatim of the technique and after-treatment.

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 242:

     Despite the seemingly bright start in North America, French forces failed to stop the English from opening up the Saint Lawrence seaway through Louisbourg, which fell in 1758, and French fortresses along the Ohio river passed seriatim into English hands.

   • 2004, Jon L. Ericson, Notes and Comments on Robert’s Rules, page 87:

     What does “consider seriatim” mean? To consider seriatim means to consider a motion part by part. (Literally, seriatim means in a series, so a motion could be considered by sentence, by paragraph, or by section.)

   • 2006, Daniel Yeager, J. L. Austin and the Law: Exculpation and the Explication of Responsibility, page 42:

     Children who seriatim decapitate a row of trees or pull the wings off flies hardly do it unintentionally, but they may have no reason or motive […]

Synonyms

• in order, step by step; see also Thesaurus:sequentially

Adjective

seriatim (not comparable)

1. (chiefly law) Point by point; sequential.
   • 2021 October 4, Mark Walsh, “A View from the courtroom: In-person arguments come out of storage”, in SCOTUSblog‎:

     The argument will also be the first test of the court’s announced hybrid system for oral argument, involving both the usual free-for-all questioning that was missing from the telephone arguments, and one round of seriatim questioning at the end of each arguing attorney’s presentation.

   a seriatim review

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:seriatim.

Related terms

• gradatim
• literatim
• serial
• seriate
• seriation
• series
• verbatim

See also

• seriatum

Anagrams

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