series

se•ries

[[t]ˈsɪər iz[/t]] n. pl. -ries

1) a group or a number of related or similar things, events, etc., arranged or occurring in temporal, spatial, or other order or succession; sequence

2) a number of games, contests, or sporting events, with the same participants, considered as a unit

3) phi num a set, as of coins or postage stamps

4) lib a set of successive volumes or of issues of a periodical published in like form with similarity of subject or purpose

5) sbz Radio and Television.

a) a daily or weekly program with a set format, a regular cast of characters, and sometimes a continuing story, as a situation comedy or a soap opera

b) two or more programs related by theme, format, or the like:

a series on African wildlife[/ex]

6) math. a sequence of terms combined by addition, as 1 +½+¼+?+…+½

n[/ex]

7) rht a succession of coordinate sentence elements

8) gel a division of stratified rocks that is of next higher rank to a stage and next lower rank to a system, comprising deposits formed during part of a geological epoch

9) elm elo an arrangement of an electrical circuit in which the components are connected end-to-end, so that the same current flows through each component

10) chem. a group of related chemical elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number

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Etymology: 1605–15; < L seriēs; akin to serere to intertwine syn: series, sequence, succession are terms for an orderly following of things one after another. series is applied to a number of things of the same kind, usu. related to each other, arranged or happening in order: a series of baseball games. sequence stresses the continuity in time, thought, cause and effect, etc.: The scenes came in a definite sequence. succession implies that one thing is followed by another or others in turn, usu. though not necessarily with a relation or connection between them: a succession of calamities.