series

series

See also: séries, seríes, sériés, and sèries

English

Etymology

Attested from the 1610s;[1] borrowed from Latin seriēs, from serere (“to join together, bind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, put together, to line up”). Related to desert, insert, sermon, and sorcerer.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪə.ɹiːz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɹiz/, /ˈsiɹiz/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪəɹɪ.ɪz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: (US) -ɪɹiz
• Homophones: Siri's, Siris, Ceres

Noun

series (plural series or (obsolete) serieses)

1. A number of things that follow on one after the other or are connected one after the other.

   Synonyms: chain, line, sequence, stream, succession; see also Thesaurus:sequence

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess‎:

     When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. […]. The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain.

   • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:

     Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.

   A series of seemingly inconsequential events led cumulatively to the fall of the company.

2. (broadcasting) A television or radio program which consists of several episodes that are broadcast in regular intervals

   Synonyms: show, program

   “Friends” was one of the most successful television series in recent years.

3. (Discuss⁽⁺⁾ this sense) (mathematics) The sequence of partial sums ${\\displaystyle \\sum _{i=1}^{n}{a_{i}}}$ of a given sequence a_i.

   The harmonic series has been much studied.

4. (cricket, baseball) A group of matches between two sides, with the aim being to win more matches than the opposition.

   The Blue Jays are playing the Yankees in a four-game series.

5. (zoology) An unranked taxon.
6. (botany) A subdivision of a genus, a taxonomic rank below that of section (and subsection) but above that of species.
7. (commerce) A parcel of rough diamonds of assorted qualities.
8. (phonology) A set of consonants that share a particular phonetic or phonological feature.

Usage notes

• (mathematics): Beginning students often confuse series with sequence.

Synonyms

• serie (obsolete)

Derived terms

• in series
• pre-series, preseries
• (electrical) series-wound
• (media, television) TV series

mathematics

• arithmetic series
• Balmer series
• basic hypergeometric series
• Brackett series
• confluent hypergeometric series
• formal power series
• geometric series
• Humphreys series
• hypergeometric series
• Lyman series
• Paschen series
• Pfund series
• power series

 

Related terms

• serial
• seriate
• seriatim
• seriation

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: シリーズ (shirīzu)
• → Korean: 시리즈 (sirijeu)

Translations

a number of things that follow on one after the other

Arabic: سِلْسِلَة‎ f (silsila), مَجْمُوعَة‎‎ f (majmūʿa) Hijazi Arabic: سلسلة‎ f (silsila), مجموعة‎ f (majmūʿa) Armenian: սերիա (hy) (seria), շարք (hy) (šarkʿ) Azerbaijani: seriya Belarusian: се́рыя f (sjéryja), сэ́рыя f (séryja) (Taraškievica), рад m (rad) Bulgarian: се́рия (bg) f (sérija), поредица (bg) f (poredica) Catalan: sèrie (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 系列 (zh) (xìliè) Czech: série (cs) f Danish: serie ? Dutch: serie (nl) f Esperanto: serio (eo) Estonian: sari (et) Finnish: sarja (fi) French: suite (fr) f, série (fr) f Galician: serie (gl) f Georgian: სერია (seria) German: Serie (de) f Greek: σειρά (el) f (seirá), αλληλουχία (el) f (allilouchía) Hebrew: סִדְרָה‎ (he) f (sidrá) Hindi: शृंखला (hi) f (śŕṅkhlā) Hungarian: sorozat (hu) Icelandic: röð (is) f Indonesian: seri (id) Italian: serie (it) f Japanese: 系列 (ja) (けいれつ, keiretsu), シリーズ (ja) (shirīzu) Kazakh: топтама (toptama) Khmer: មាលា (km) (miəliə) Korean: 계열(系列) (ko) (gyeyeol), 계렬(系列) (ko) (gyeryeol) (North Korea) Lao: ອະນຸກົມ (ʼa nu kom) Latin: seriēs f Latvian: sērija f Lithuanian: serija f Macedonian: серија f (serija) Malay: siri Maori: raupapa, raupapatanga, rangatū Norwegian: serie f Persian: سری‎ (fa) (seri), سلسله‎ (fa) (selsele) Polish: seria (pl) f, cykl (pl) m Portuguese: série (pt) f, sequência (pt) f Romanian: serie (ro) f, șir (ro) n Russian: се́рия (ru) f (sérija), после́довательность (ru) f (poslédovatelʹnostʹ), ряд (ru) m (rjad) Sanskrit: क्रम (sa) m (krama) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: се̑рија f Roman: sȇrija (sh) f Sicilian: sèria f Slovak: séria f Slovene: serija f Spanish: serie (es) f Swahili: msururu (sw) class 3/4 Swedish: serie (sv) c, svit (sv) c Tagalog: dalayray Tajik: силсила (silsila) Thai: อนุกรม (th) (à-nú-grom), ชุด (th) (chút), ลำดับ (th) (lam-dàp) Turkish: seri (tr) Ukrainian: се́рія f (sérija), ряд (uk) m (rjad) Uzbek: seriya (uz), silsila (uz) Vietnamese: loạt (vi) Volapük: sökod (vo) Yiddish: סעריע‎ f (serye)

television or radio program

Arabic: مُسَلْسَلَات تِلِفِزْيُونِيَّة‎ f pl (musalsalāt tilifizyūniyya) (TV), مُسَلْسِلَات‎ pl (musalsilāt) Hijazi Arabic: مُسَلْسَل‎ m (musalsal) Armenian: սերիալ (hy) (serial), հեռուստաշոու (hy) (heṙustašou) Azerbaijani: serial Belarusian: тэлесерыя́л m (teljesjeryjál), серыя́л m (sjeryjál) Bulgarian: сериа́л m (seriál) Catalan: sèrie (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 電視連續劇／电视连续剧 (diànshì liánxùjù) (TV), 電視劇／电视剧 (zh) (diànshìjù) (TV), 連續劇／连续剧 (zh) (liánxùjù) Crimean Tatar: serial Czech: seriál (cs) m Danish: tv-serie (da) c Dutch: reeks (nl) f, serie (nl) f Faroese: sendirøð f Finnish: sarja (fi) French: série (fr) f Galician: serie (gl) f Georgian: სერიალი (seriali), ტელესერიალი (ṭeleseriali) (TV) German: Serie (de) f, Fernsehserie (de) f (TV) Greek: σειρά (el) f (seirá) Hebrew: סִדְרָה‎ (he) f (sidrá) Hindi: टी वी शृंखला f (ṭī vī śŕṅkhlā) (TV), शृंखला (hi) f (śŕṅkhlā), सीरियल (hi) m (sīriyal), धारावाहिक (hi) m (dhārāvāhik) Hungarian: sorozat (hu) Icelandic: þáttaröð f, þættir m pl Indonesian: seri (id) Italian: serie (it) f Japanese: テレビシリーズ (terebi shirīzu) (TV), シリーズ (ja) (shirīzu), ドラマ (ja) (dorama, literally “drama”), テレビドラマ (terebi dorama) (TV series, TV drama) Kazakh: телехикая (telexikaä), сериал (serial), хикая (xikaä) Korean: 티뷔 시리즈 (tibwi sirijeu) (TV), 시리즈 (ko) (sirijeu), 드라마 (ko) (deurama, literally “drama”), 연속극(連續劇) (ko) (yeonsokgeuk), 련속극(連續劇) (ryeonsokgeuk) (North Korea) Kyrgyz: сериал (serial) Malay: siri Maltese: sensiela f Norwegian: Bokmål: (TV) fjernsynsserie m Nynorsk: (TV) fjernsynsserie m Persian: مجموعه تلویزیونی‎ (majmu'e-ye televizioni) (TV), مجموعه‎ (fa) (majmu'e), سریال‎ (fa) (seriâl) Polish: serial (pl) m Portuguese: série (pt) f, seriado (pt) m Romanian: serie (ro) f, serial (ro) n Russian: телесериа́л (ru) m (teleseriál) (TV), сериа́л (ru) m (seriál), се́рия (ru) f (sérija) (one episode/part), шо́у (ru) n (šóu), телешо́у (ru) n (telešóu) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: се̑рија f, ни̏за̄нка f Roman: sȇrija (sh) f, nȉzānka (sh) f Sicilian: sèria f Slovak: seriál m Spanish: serie (es) f, serie de televisión f Swedish: serie (sv) c, följetong (sv) ? (especially radio) Tagalog: dugtungan Tajik: сериал (serial) Thai: ซีรีส์ (sii-rîi), รายการชุด Turkish: dizi (tr) Ukrainian: телесеріа́л m (teleseriál), серіа́л m (seriál) Uzbek: serial (uz) Vietnamese: xê-ri, loạt (vi) Volapük: sökod (vo), televidasökod, radionasökod, (radio / TV episode) näijenot

in analysis: sum of the terms of a sequence

Arabic: مُتَسَلْسِلَة‎ f (mutasalsila), سِلْسِلَة‎ f (silsila) Bulgarian: ред (bg) m (red) Catalan: sèrie (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 級數／级数 (zh) (jíshù) Czech: řada (cs) f Danish: række (da) c Dutch: reeks (nl) f Finnish: sarja (fi) French: série (fr) f Galician: serie (gl) f German: Reihe (de) f Greek: σύνολο (el) n (sýnolo) Hebrew: טוּר‎ (he) m (tur) Hindi: सिलसिला (hi) m (silsilā), सीरियल (hi) m (sīriyal) Hungarian: sor (hu) Italian: serie (it) f Japanese: 級数 (ja) (きゅうすう, kyūsū) Kazakh: қатар (kk) (qatar) Malay: siri Norwegian: rekke (no) m or f Persian: سری‎ (fa) (seri) Polish: szereg (pl) m Portuguese: série (pt) f Romanian: serie (ro) f Russian: ряд (ru) m (rjad) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ре̑д m Roman: rȇd (sh) m Sicilian: sèria f Spanish: serie (es) f Swedish: serie (sv) c, oändlig summa c, summa (sv) c Tagalog: dalayray Ukrainian: ряд (uk) m (rjad) Urdu: سلسلہ‎ m (silsila)

A series circuit

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “series”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

• series in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• series in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• series at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• reises, ressie, seiser

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Asturian

Noun

series

1. plural of serie

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /səˈɾi.əs/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /seˈɾi.es/

Verb

series

1. second-person singular conditional form of ser

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

series

1. Plural form of serie

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Interlingua

Noun

series

1. plural of serie

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Latin

Etymology

From serō (“to bind”) +‎ -iēs.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈse.ri.eːs/, [ˈs̠ɛrieːs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈse.ri.es/, [ˈsɛːries]

Noun

seriēs f (genitive seriēī); fifth declension

1. a row
2. a succession
3. a series
4. a chain

Declension

Fifth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	seriēs	seriēs
Genitive	seriēī	seriērum
Dative	seriēī	seriēbus
Accusative	seriem	seriēs
Ablative	seriē	seriēbus
Vocative	seriēs	seriēs

Descendants

• → Albanian: sërë
• Asturian: serie
• Catalan: sèrie
• → English: series
  • → Japanese: シリーズ
• → Esperanto: serio
• French: série
  • → Dutch: serie
  • → Polish: seria
  • → Romanian: serie
  • → Turkish: seri
• → German: Serie
  • → Ukrainian: се́рія (sérija)
• → Interlingua: serie
• Italian: serie
• Portuguese: série
• → Russian: се́рия (sérija)
  • → Kazakh: серия (seriä)
• Sicilian: sèria
• Spanish: serie
• → Swedish: serie

References

• “series”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “series”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• series in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• series in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

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Portuguese

Verb

series

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of seriar

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾjes/ [ˈse.ɾjes]
• Rhymes: -eɾjes
• Syllabification: se‧ries

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

series f pl

1. plural of serie

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

series

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of seriar

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Swedish

Noun

series

1. indefinite genitive singular of serie.