Word definition: series

Etimology


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.

noun


series (plural series or (obsolete) serieses)

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

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

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

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

(zoology) An unranked taxon.

(botany) A subdivision of a genus, a taxonomic rank below that of section (and subsection) but above that of species.

(commerce) A parcel of rough diamonds of assorted qualities.

(phonology) A set of consonants that share a particular phonetic or phonological feature.

Examples


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

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

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.

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.

Synonyms: show; program; season

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

The harmonic series has been much studied.

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

Related words


synonyms

serie (obsolete)

related terms

serial

seriate

seriatim

seriation

Data provided by Wiktionary