series

series [sir′ēz, sē′rēz]

n.

pl. series [L < serere, to join or weave together < IE base * ser-, to line up, join > Gr eirein, to join together, OE searu, a snare, armor, ON sørvi, necklace]

1. a group or number of similar or related things arranged in a row [a series of arches]

2. a group or number of related or similar persons, things, or events coming one after another; sequence; succession

3. a number of things produced as a related group; set, as of books or television programs, related in subject, format, etc., or dealing with the same characters

4. Bowling a set of three consecutive games

5. Elec. an arrangement of devices in a circuit, in which the current flows sequentially through a series of components: used chiefly in the phrase in series: cf. PARALLEL (sense 7)

6. Geol. a subdivision of a system of stratified rocks, consisting of the rocks laid down during a geologic epoch

7. Math. the sum of a sequence, often infinite, of terms usually separated by plus signs or minus signs (Ex.: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7)

8. Rhetoric a group of successive coordinate elements of a sentence

adj.

Elec. designating or of a circuit in series

SYN.- SERIES applies to a number of similar, more or less related things following one another in time or place [a series of concerts ]; SEQUENCE emphasizes a closer relationship between the things, such as logical connection, numerical order, etc. [the sequence of events ]; SUCCESSION merely implies a following of one thing after another, without any necessary connection between them [a succession of errors ]; CHAIN refers to a series in which there is a definite relationship of cause and effect or some other logical connection [a chain of ideas ]