series

See also: séries, seríes, sériés, and sèries

English

Etymology

Attested from the 1610s; 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 (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)iːz
• 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

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

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     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.

2. (broadcasting) A television or radio program consisting of several episodes that are broadcast at regular intervals.

   Synonyms: show, program

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

3. (broadcasting, chiefly UK) Synonym of season (“one of the groups of episodes that together make up a whole series”)

   I enjoyed the third series of “Friends”.

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

   The harmonic series has been much studied.

5. (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.

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

Usage notes

• (broadcasting): In North American English, a year-long group of episodes of a television or radio show is called a season, whereas the word series is a synonym of program or show.
• (mathematics): Beginning students often confuse series with sequence.

Synonyms

• serie (obsolete)

Derived terms

all terms

• actinium series
• alternating series
• alternating series test
• arthro-series
• binomial series
• chemical series
• continuity series
• convergent series
• decay series
• Dirichlet series
• divergent series
• (electrical) series-wound
• electrochemical series
• electrostatic series
• Fourier cosine series
• Fourier series
• Fourier sine series
• gala-series
• galvanic series
• Grandi's series
• Hahn series
• harmonic series
• homologous series
• hydrogen spectral series
• infinite series
• in series
• Kempner series
• lacto series
• lacto-series
• lacunary series
• Lambert series
• Laurent series
• Maclaurin series
• Malling series
• (media, television) TV series
• mollu-series
• muco-series
• neogala-series
• neolacto-series
• Pickering series
• pre-series, preseries
• Ritz series
• schisto-series
• series circuit
• series dead space
• series finale
• series of tubes
• series original
• spirometo-series
• subway series
• Taylor series
• Taylor's series
• television series
• ten-year series
• time series
• time series animation
• triboelectric series
• trigonometric series
• type series
• Volterra 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)
• → Burmese: စီးရီး (ci:ri:)

Translations

a number of things that follow on one after the other

• Arabic: سِلْسِلَة f (silsila), مَجْمُوعَة (ar) f (majmūʕa)

  Hijazi Arabic: سلسلة f (silsila), مجموعة f (majmūʕa)

• Armenian: սերիա (hy) (seria), շարք (hy) (šarkʻ)
• 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 c, rækkefølge (da) c, * Danish: række (da) c
• 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)
• Ingrian: rääty
• 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 (ms)
• Maori: raupapa, raupapatanga, rangatū
• Norwegian: serie f
• Ottoman Turkish: سلسله (silsile)
• 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, retahíla (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), silsile (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 (ja) (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 (ms)
• 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 (qatar)
• Malay: siri (ms)
• 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

Further reading

• “series”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “series”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “series”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• reises, ressie, seiser

Asturian

Noun

series

1. plural of serie

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [səˈɾi.əs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [seˈɾi.es]

Verb

series

1. second-person singular conditional of ser
2. second-person singular conditional of ésser

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

series

1. plural of serie

Interlingua

Noun

series

1. plural of serie

Latin

Etymology

From serō (“to bind”) +‎ -iēs.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈse.ri.eːs/, [ˈs̠ɛrieːs̠]
• (modern Italianate 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
  • → Persian: سری (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.

Portuguese

Verb

series

1. second-person singular present subjunctive of seriar

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

Swedish

Noun

series

1. indefinite genitive singular of serie

series c

1. Obsolete form of serie.