Etymograph

English

serry

Serry comes from French serré ‘action of pressing something together’, from Vulgar Latin *serrare ‘close, shut’, and ultimately from Latin serō ‘to bind’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserō1‘to bind’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsera2‘a bar, bolt’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEserare2‘fasten, bolt’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*serrare2‘close, shut’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400serrer2
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600serrer2
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentserré2‘action of pressing something together’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1904serry2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin sera
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English serry
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1904, William Ernest Henley, Clinical: “High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones, Round,…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEserōWiktionary, Latin sera‘to bind’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEseraWiktionary, English serry‘a bar, bolt’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEserareWiktionary, English serry‘fasten, bolt’
  4. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*serrareWiktionary, English serry‘close, shut’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400serrerWiktionary, English serry
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600serrerWiktionary, English serry
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentserréWiktionary, English serry‘action of pressing something together’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1904serryWiktionary, English serry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1904, William Ernest Henley, Clinical: “High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones, Round,…”

Linked words

through Latin serō ‘to bind’

season, series, desert, serial, insert, exert, soiree, sere, 8 more

through Vulgar Latin *serrare ‘close, shut’

cerrado

Today it means

verb To crowd, press together, or close (rank)

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “serry”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin sera. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin serō / serry

Shirt and support for this word