série

Forms

série f (plural séries)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin seriēs (“row, chain, sequence”), a learned word.^[2][3][4][1] Houaiss dates the first record to 1686;^[2][3] Cunha gives the 18th century.^[2][3]

The same Latin word was borrowed as Spanish serie (1499), French série (1715), Italian serie and Catalan sèrie.^[5][6][1]

The Latin noun is formed on serō (“to link, join”).^[7][1] De Vaan derives the verb from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to thread, tie together”) and compares Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to knit together”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is of 1686, in the general sense of things of one kind that follow one another.^[2] Feijó (1734) defines it as a “continuation of things”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1813) gives first a mathematical sense, a succession of quantities that grow or diminish by a rule, and then the general sense of an ordered sequence, uma serie de annos “a series of years”.^[9] The 20th century added a set of things issued together (stamps, coins, banknotes), a set of books published under one title, a circuit in which the current follows one path, and a television programme in episodes.^[2][10][11] In Brazil série is also a school year.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 1686 – first record.^[2]
• 1734 – Feijó defines it as a continuation of things.^[8]
• 1813 – Morais records the mathematical sense.^[9]
• 1899 – first record of the derivative seriação.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A number of things or events of the same kind following one another in space or time; a series, sequence.^[2][10][1]
2. A set of similar objects forming a whole: uma série de moedas.^[2][10]
3. A class or category within a classification.^[2][12]
4. A large number of something: uma série de erros.^[2][12][1]
5. (Brazil) A school year, grade.^[2][1]
6. (television) A programme or film shown in episodes.^[2][12][1]
7. (mathematics) The sum of the terms of a sequence; a sequence of quantities.^[13][1][9]
8. (electricity) An arrangement of components that gives the current a single path.^[2][13]
9. (publishing) A set of books by various authors issued under one title.^[2][1]

Word family

• seriado
• seriar
• seriação
• minissérie

Related words

• serial
• Latin seriēs
• Spanish serie
• French série

Usage notes

Em série means “in series” and “mass-produced”, and fora de série “out of the ordinary”.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. série
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. série
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. série
5. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. serie
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. série
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. serō
8. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. série
9. ^ a b c Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 691
10. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. série
11. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. série
12. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. série
13. ^ a b Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. série