from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Series \Se"ries\, n. [L. series, fr. serere, sertum, to join or
bind together; cf. Gr. ??? to fasten, Skr. sarit thread. Cf.
{Assert}, {Desert} a solitude, {Exert}, {Insert},
{Seraglio}.]
1. A number of things or events standing or succeeding in
order, and connected by a like relation; sequence; order;
course; a succession of things; as, a continuous series of
calamitous events.
[1913 Webster]
During some years his life a series of triumphs.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Biol.) Any comprehensive group of animals or plants
including several subordinate related groups.
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Note: Sometimes a series includes several classes; sometimes
only orders or families; in other cases only species.
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3. (Bot.) In Engler's system of plant classification, a group
of families showing certain structural or morphological
relationships. It corresponds to the {cohort} of some
writers, and to the {order} of many modern systematists.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
4. (Math.) An indefinite number of terms succeeding one
another, each of which is derived from one or more of the
preceding by a fixed law, called the law of the series;
as, an arithmetical series; a geometrical series.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Elec.) A mode of arranging the separate parts of a
circuit by connecting them successively end to end to form
a single path for the current; -- opposed to {parallel}.
The parts so arranged are said to be
{in series}.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
6. (Com.) A parcel of rough diamonds of assorted qualities.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]