serial

See also: seriál and sérial

English

Etymology

Formed as series +‎ -al, on model of Latin seriālis, from seriēs + -ālis. Cognate to Italian seriale. First use appears c. 1823. See cite below.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/

• Audio (Australia):

  (file)

• Homophone: cereal

Adjective

serial (not comparable)

1. Having to do with or arranged in a series.

   Synonym: sequential

   • 1823, Royal Institution of Great Britain (contributor), The Quarterly Journal - Volume 14, page 318:

     These singular ribs have a very different direction from that of the serial teeth of the hinge, and cannot be taken for teeth.

2. (of a person) Who performs a specified action or course of action repeatedly or regularly.

   Synonym: career

   The serial killer had a string of victims across seven states.

   He was a serial entrepreneur, always coming up with a new way to make cash.

   • 2012, Rachel James, Salisbury, Lulu.com, page 10:

     "No I could not!" Kate looked at Max sternly. "I am not a cheat and I am not a serial monogamist."

   • 2025 October 27, Dalia Faheid, “Bodies keep being recovered from the bayous around Houston. Why officials are convinced it’s not the work of a serial killer”, in CNN‎^[1], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 28 October 2025:

     “It’s easier to sort of attribute these deaths to a boogeyman serial killer as opposed to confronting the real possible reasons that these deaths are happening,” she said, pointing to mental health, substance abuse and housing issues.

3. Published or produced in installments.
4. (grammar) Of or relating to a grammatical aspect relating to an action that is habitual and ongoing.

Derived terms

• biserial
• multiserial
• nonserial
• pauciserial
• polyserial
• postserial
• quadriserial
• quinqueserial
• rectiserial
• serial art
• serial bond
• serial comma
• serial file
• serial interval
• serialise
• serialism
• serialist
• serialistic
• seriality
• serialize
• serial key
• serial killer
• serially
• serial monogamist
• serial monogamy
• serial music
• serial number
• serial pest
• serial polygamy
• serial port
• serial position effect
• serial rapist
• serial time-encoded amplified microscopy
• subserial
• triserial
• uniserial

Translations

Having to do with or arranged in a series

• Bulgarian: сериен (serien)
• Catalan: serial (ca)
• Czech: sériový (cs)
• Finnish: sarja-
• Galician: en serie
• German: Serien-, seriell (de)
• Greek: σειριακός (el) (seiriakós)
• Hindi: क्रमिक (hi) (kramik)
• Hungarian: sorozat-
• Indonesian: berantai
• Italian: seriale (it)
• Polish: seryjny (pl)
• Portuguese: serial (pt)
• Romanian: serial (ro)
• Spanish: en serie, serial (es)
• Swedish: seriell (sv)
• Welsh: cyfres (cy), cyfresol

Published or produced in installments

• Hungarian: sorozat (hu)
• Indonesian: cerbung, serial
• Portuguese: seriado (pt)

Noun

serial (plural serials)

1. A literary or dramatic work, such as a radio or television programme, published in installments, often numbered and without a specified end.
2. A publication issued in successive parts, often numbered and with no predetermined end.
3. (computing, slang) A serial number, esp. one required to activate software.

   Go to these sites for serials, cracks and keygens.

4. (UK) A unit of police officers equipped with shields to tackle a riot.
   • 1992, James Donald, Ali Rattansi, Race, Culture and Difference, page 66:

     The practice, especially among members of shield serials, of 'whooping like cowboys and indians' and beating of truncheons on riot shields must cease as this tends to frighten and intimidate rioters.

   • 2013, Tony Moore, Policing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence, page 324:

     The serials worked in pairs, one with long shields and one with short shields.

Derived terms

• daytime serial
• miniserial
• nonserial
• teleserial

Related terms

• seriate
• seriatim
• seriation
• series

Descendants

• → Russian: сериа́л (seriál, “TV-series”)
  • → Azerbaijani: serial

Translations

literal work

• Finnish: jatkokertomus (fi) (fiction); kirjoitussarja (fact)
• French: feuilleton (fr) m
• Greek: σειρά (el) f (seirá)
• Hindi: सीरियल (hi) m (sīriyal)
• Hungarian: folytatásos (hu)
• Irish: sraithchlár m, sraith f (fam)
• Portuguese: série (pt) f, folhetim (pt) m
• Swedish: följetong (sv)
• Tamil: தொடர் (ta) (toṭar)
• Welsh: cyfres (cy) f

publication

• Bulgarian: сериал m (serial)
• Finnish: julkaisusarja
• Irish: sraithiris f
• Portuguese: série (pt) f
• Tamil: தொடர் (ta) (toṭar)
• Welsh: cyfnodolyn m

serial number required to activate software

• Portuguese: serial (pt) m
• Vietnamese: mã kích hoạt

See also

• fascicle
• twelve tone technique

Verb

serial (third-person singular simple present serials, present participle (US) serialing or (UK) serialling, simple past and past participle (US) serialed or (UK) serialled)

1. (transitive) to assign a serial number to (especially of aircraft)

References

• DeLone et. al. (Eds.) (1975). Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. →ISBN, Ch. 6.
• “serial”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Google books: uses of serial

Anagrams

• Ariels, Lieras, railes, resail, Sal Rei, ariels, Realis, sailer, Isreal, relais, Israël, realis, Alires, Sailer, Israel, serail

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Etymology tree

English serial

Russian сериа́л (seriál)bor.

Azerbaijani serial

Borrowed from Russian сериа́л (seriál), from English serial.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Noun

serial (definite accusative serialı, plural seriallar)

1. (broadcasting, film) series

   türk serialları ― Turkish TV-series

   Azərbaycanlılar türk seriallarına baxmağı çox sevirlər.

   Azerbaijanis love watching Turkish TV-series.

Declension

Declension of serial

	singular	plural
nominative	serial	seriallar
definite accusative	serialı	serialları
dative	seriala	seriallara
locative	serialda	seriallarda
ablative	serialdan	seriallardan
definite genitive	serialın	serialların

Possessive forms of serial

	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialım	seriallarım
sənin (“your”)	serialın	serialların
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialı	serialları
bizim (“our”)	serialımız	seriallarımız
sizin (“your”)	serialınız	seriallarınız
onların (“their”)	serialı or serialları	serialları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialımı	seriallarımı
sənin (“your”)	serialını	seriallarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialını	seriallarını
bizim (“our”)	serialımızı	seriallarımızı
sizin (“your”)	serialınızı	seriallarınızı
onların (“their”)	serialını or seriallarını	seriallarını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialıma	seriallarıma
sənin (“your”)	serialına	seriallarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialına	seriallarına
bizim (“our”)	serialımıza	seriallarımıza
sizin (“your”)	serialınıza	seriallarınıza
onların (“their”)	serialına or seriallarına	seriallarına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialımda	seriallarımda
sənin (“your”)	serialında	seriallarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialında	seriallarında
bizim (“our”)	serialımızda	seriallarımızda
sizin (“your”)	serialınızda	seriallarınızda
onların (“their”)	serialında or seriallarında	seriallarında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialımdan	seriallarımdan
sənin (“your”)	serialından	seriallarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialından	seriallarından
bizim (“our”)	serialımızdan	seriallarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	serialınızdan	seriallarınızdan
onların (“their”)	serialından or seriallarından	seriallarından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	serialımın	seriallarımın
sənin (“your”)	serialının	seriallarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	serialının	seriallarının
bizim (“our”)	serialımızın	seriallarımızın
sizin (“your”)	serialınızın	seriallarınızın
onların (“their”)	serialının or seriallarının	seriallarının

Further reading

• “serial” in Obastan.com.

Catalan

Etymology

By surface analysis, sèrie +‎ -al. The nominal sense is a semantic loan from English serial.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [sə.ɾiˈal]

• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [se.ɾiˈal]

Adjective

serial m or f (masculine and feminine plural serials)

1. serial

Derived terms

• serialisme
• serialitzar

Noun

serial m (plural serials)

1. (broadcasting) serial

Further reading

• “serial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026

Indonesian

Etymology

From English serial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [seˈrial]
• Hyphenation: sé‧ri‧al

Adjective

sérial (comparative lebih serial, superlative paling serial)

1. serial (having to do with or arranged in a series; published or produced in installments)

Synonyms

• bersambungan
• berturut-turut
• berurutan
• cerbung

Related terms

• seri

Further reading

• “serial”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English serial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛ.rjal/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrjal
• Syllabification: se‧rial

Noun

serial m inan

1. (television) series (television program which consists of several episodes that are broadcast in regular intervals)

Declension

Declension of serial

	singular	plural
nominative	serial	seriale
genitive	serialu	seriali, serialów
dative	serialowi	serialom
accusative	serial	seriale
instrumental	serialem	serialami
locative	serialu	serialach
vocative	serialu	seriale

Derived terms

adjective

• serialowy

Further reading

• “serial”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “serial”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English serial. By surface analysis, serie + -al.

Adjective

serial m or n (feminine singular serială, masculine plural seriali, feminine/neuter plural seriale)

1. serial

Declension

Declension of serial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	serial		serială	seriali	seriale
	definite	serialul		seriala	serialii	serialele
genitive- dative	indefinite	serial		seriale	seriali	seriale
	definite	serialului		serialei	serialilor	serialelor

Noun

serial n (plural seriale)

1. serial

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	serial	serialul	seriale	serialele
genitive-dative	serial	serialului	seriale	serialelor
vocative	serialule		serialelor

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ser-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *séreti

Proto-Italic *serō

Latin serō

Proto-Indo-European *-yḗh₂s

Proto-Italic *-jēs

Latin -iēs

Latin seriēs

Spanish serie

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Spanish -al

Spanish serial

From serie + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seˈɾjal/ [seˈɾjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: se‧rial

Adjective

serial m or f (masculine and feminine plural seriales)

1. serial

Derived terms

• serialmente

Noun

serial m (plural seriales)

1. series, programme (TV or radio)

   Synonyms: serie, culebrón, folletín, novela

Further reading

• “serial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026