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Definition 2024


Ser

Ser

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ser"

Translingual

Abbreviation

Ser

  1. (biochemistry) IUPAC 3-letter abbreviation of serine

Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unknown.

Proper noun

Ser m

  1. (France) Sark

ser

ser

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ser"

English

Abbreviation

ser

  1. serial

Noun

ser (plural sers)

  1. (used in some fantasy novels) An address or courtesy title to any person, especially if their gender and/or form of address are unknown.
    Would ser care to dine this evening?

Anagrams


Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeō (I sit, I reside). However, many of the forms derive from Vulgar Latin *essere, from Latin esse, sum.

Verb

ser

  1. to be

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeo (I sit, I reside). However, many of the forms derive from Vulgar Latin *essere, from Latin esse, sum.

Verb

ser

  1. to be

Conjugation

Impersonal forms
Infinitive ser
Gerund siendo
Past participle sío
Personal forms
yo tu él~elli/-a/-o nosotros/-es~nós vosotros/-es~vós ellos/-es
Indicative Present soi
so
yes ye somos sois son
Imperfect preterite yera yeres yera yéremos~yéramos yereis~yerais yeren
Perfect preterite fui fuesti
fuisti
foi fuemos
fuimos
fuestis
fuistis
fueron
Pluperfect preterite fuera~fuere fueras~fueres fuera~fuere fuéramos~fuéremos fuerais~fuereis fueran~fueren
yo tu él~elli/-a/-o nosotros/-es~nós vosotros/-es~vós ellos/-es
Subjunctive Present seya seyas seya seyamos seyáis seyan
Imperfect preterite fuera~fuere fueras~fueres fuera~fuere fuéramos~fuéremos fuerais~fuereis fueran~fueren
yo tu él~elli/-a/-o nosotros/-es~nós vosotros/-es~vós ellos/-es
Potential Future seré serás será seremos seréis serán
Conditional sería seríes sería seríamos~seríemos seríais~seríeis seríen
- tu vusté nosotros/-es~nós vosotros/-es~vós vustedes
Imperative vamos ser sei

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

  1. being

Derived terms


Baure

Noun

ser

  1. tooth
    niser — my tooth
    eser — a tooth, someone's tooth
    nitorak to eser — I found a/someone's tooth

References

  • Languages of the Amazon (2012, ISBN 0199593566)

Catalan

Alternative forms

Etymology

From a reduction of ésser, from Vulgar Latin *essere and this from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum, from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (I am, I exist).

Verb

ser (first-person singular present sóc, past participle estat)

  1. (intransitive) to be, to exist
    Ser o no ser, aquesta és la qüestió.
    To be or not to be, that is the question.
  2. (intransitive, +adverbial phrase) to be located (to be in a place)
  3. (transitive, copulative) to be (used to connect a noun to another noun)
  4. (transitive, copulative) to have a characteristic (used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes an inherent property)
  5. (auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice, together with a past participle

Usage notes

This is one of two verbs that can be translated as to be, the other being estar. Ser/ésser indicates something that is inherent and not expected to change, whereas estar indicates temporary qualities that apply only at a particular time. Ser/ésser relates to estar as essence relates to state, etymologically as well as semantically.

Conjugation


Czech

Verb

ser

  1. second-person singular present imperative of srát

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /seːr/, [seɐ̯ˀ]

Verb

ser

  1. present tense of se

Galician

Etymology

From Old Portuguese seer, from Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeō (I sit, I reside). However, many of the forms derive from Vulgar Latin *essere, from Latin esse, sum.

Verb

ser (first-person singular present son, first-person singular preterite fun, past participle sido)

  1. to be
  2. first-person singular personal infinitive of ser
  3. third-person singular personal infinitive of ser

Usage notes

Like Portuguese and Spanish, Galician has two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”. The verb ser relates to essence, origin, or physical description. In contrast, the verb estar relates to current state or position.

Conjugation

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

  1. being (living creature)

See also


Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈʃɛr]
  • Hyphenation: ser

Noun

ser (plural serek)

  1. (archaic, dialectal, humorous) beer

Usage notes

An archaic and dialectal variant of sör, but today it can also be humorous in informal conversations. In compound words and derivations, only sör is used.

Synonyms


Italian

Etymology

Shortening of messer.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sːɛ.r/

Noun

ser m (plural ser)

  1. (historical) Title and form of address for a gentleman, shortened from messer
    Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

Kurdish

Noun

ser m

  1. head

Preposition

li ser

  1. on
    li ser maseyê — “on the table”

Lojban

Rafsi

ser

  1. rafsi of serti.

Middle Dutch

Noun

ser

  1. (title and pronoun) sir, lord
    • 1301-1350, Van den VII vroeden van binnen Rome. Een dichtwerk der XIVde eeuw (INL)
      Garijn, ser Diederecs sone”
    • 1414, Hennen van Merchtenen's Cornicke van Brabant (INL)
      Als ijemen sterven plach, hinc men daer teken ser wapen

Middle English

Noun

ser

  1. sir
    • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, pages 40–41
      And I seide, “Ser, in his tyme maister Ioon Wiclef was holden of ful many men the grettis clerk that thei knewen lyuynge vpon erthe. And therwith he was named, as I gesse worthili, a passing reuli man and an innocent in al his lyuynge. And herfore grete men of kunnynge and other also drowen myche to him, and comownede ofte with him. And thei sauouriden so his loore that thei wroten it bisili and enforsiden hem to rulen hem theraftir… Maister Ion Aston taughte and wroot acordingli and ful bisili, where and whanne and to whom he myghte, and he vsid it himsilf, I gesse, right perfyghtli vnto his lyues eende. Also Filip of Repintoun whilis he was a chanoun of Leycetre, Nycol Herforde, dane Geffrey of Pikeringe, monke of Biland and a maistir dyuynyte, and Ioon Purueye, and manye other whiche weren holden rightwise men and prudent, taughten and wroten bisili this forseide lore of Wiclef, and conformeden hem therto. And with alle these men I was ofte homli and I comownede with hem long tyme and fele, and so bifore alle othir men I chees wilfulli to be enformed bi hem and of hem, and speciali of Wiclef himsilf, as of the moost vertuous and goodlich wise man that I herde of owhere either knew. And herfore of Wicleef speciali and of these men I toke the lore whiche I haue taughte and purpose to lyue aftir, if God wole, to my lyues ende.”

Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeō (I sit, I reside). However, many of the forms derive from Vulgar Latin *essere, from Latin esse, sum.

Verb

ser

  1. to be (indicates a permanent quality)

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

  1. being

See also


Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

ser

  1. present tense of se

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

ser

  1. present tense of sjå

Pohnpeian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sɛr/

Verb

ser

  1. (intransitive) to run aground

Interjection

ser

  1. An exclamation used to attract the attention of two or more people.

Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *syrъ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sɛr]

Noun

ser m inan (diminutive serek)

  1. cheese

Declension

Derived terms


Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese seer, with some forms from Vulgar Latin *essere (from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum (I am, exist), from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (I am, I exist)), and some forms, including the infinitive, from Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeō (I sit), from Proto-Italic *sedēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.

  • Latin sedeō: personal and impersonal infinitives, gerund, present subjunctive, affirmative imperative
    • Vulgar Latin *sutis: sois
  • Latin sum: present indicative, imperfect indicative, preterite indicative, pluperfect indicative, imperfect subjunctive, future subjunctive
    • Vulgar Latin *sonō: sou
  • later developments: past participle, future indicative, conditional, negative imperative

Pronunciation

  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈseɾ/
  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈse(ʁ)/, IPA(key): /ˈse(r)/, IPA(key): /ˈse(h)/
    • Homophone: (with -r dropping)

Verb

ser (first-person singular present indicative sou, past participle sido)

  1. (copulative) to be (to have the given quality), especially a quality that is intrinsic or not expected to change, contrasting with estar which denotes a temporary quality
    Ela está bonita, mas não é bonita.
    She is beautiful right now, but she is not a beautiful person.
  2. (transitive) to be (to be an example or type of, or the same thing as)
    Pessoas são mamíferos.
    People are mammals.
    A soma de um e dois é três.
    The sum of one and two is three.
  3. (auxiliary with a verb in the past participle) to be (forms the passive voice)
    O carro foi vendido pelo seu antigo dono.
    The car was sold by its previous owner.
    Espero que os criminosos sejam punidos.
    I hope the criminals are punished.
  4. (impersonal) to be (indicates a point in time)
    Que horas são?
    What time is it?
    São cinco horas.
    It is five o’clock.
  5. (transitive with em or another locational preposition) to be in (to be located in)
    Minha casa é num bairro pobre.
    My house is in a poor neighbourhood.
    Onde são essas cidades?
    Where are these cities?
  6. (transitive with de) to be from (to have as one’s place of origin)
    Esses equipamentos são da Alemanha.
    These pieces of equipment are from Germany.
    Nenhum de nós é de um país estrangeiro.
    None of us is from a foreign country.
  7. (transitive with de) to be (someone’s); to belong to
    Essa casa é do prefeito.
    This house belongs to the mayor.
    Não mexa em nada que não for seu.
    Don’t touch anything that is not yours.
  8. (transitive or auxiliary with para or de and a verb in the personal infinitive) to be for; to be to (to have as its purpose)
    Esse tipo de faca é para cortar tomates.
    This type of knife is for cutting tomatoes.
  9. (impersonal, auxiliary with para and a verb in the personal infinitive) to be supposed to; should (introduces an expected or demanded action)
    Não sei porque está demorando, já era para o filme ter começado.
    I don’t know why it is taking so long, the film should have started already.
    É para comermos toda a carne.
    We are supposed to eat all the meat.
  10. (transitive) to be; to cost (to be worth a given amount of money)
    Duas maçãs são dez centavos.
    Two apples are twenty cents.
  11. (intransitive) to happen; to take place; to occur
    O que será, será.
    Whatever happens happens.
    Quando é seu aniversário?
    When is your birthday?
  12. (transitive with por or a favor de or contra) to be against or in favour of
    Alguns foram contra a guerra, mas a maioria foi a favor.
    Some were against the war, but most were in favour.
  13. (poetic, intransitive) to exist; to be (a thing)
    O mal não é.
    Evil does not exist.
  14. (impersonal, transitive) used for emphasis
    Eu é que vim.
    I’m the one who came here.

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ser.

Synonyms

Usage notes

Portuguese and Spanish have two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: generally ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state. Contrast the following:

  • O homem está feliz.—“The man is [currently] happy.”
  • O homem é feliz.—“The man is [always] happy.”
  • Estás louco?—“Are you crazy [currently out of your mind]?”
  • És louco?—“Are you crazy [permanently insane]?”
  • Ela está em casa. — “She is [currently] at home.”
  • Ela é do Brasil. — “She is [originally] from Brazil.”

Conjugation

See also

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

  1. being (a living creature)

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ser.

Synonyms

Derived terms


Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin serum, French sérum. Cf. also zer.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ser/

Noun

ser n (plural seruri)

  1. serum

Declension


Romansch

Verb

ser

  1. (Sursilvan) Alternative form of seser

Spanish

Etymology

Partially from Old Spanish seer, from Latin sedēre, present active infinitive of sedeō (I sit, I reside), from Proto-Italic *sedēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-, and partially from Vulgar Latin *essere, from Latin esse, present active infinitive of sum, from Proto-Italic *ezom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti (I am, I exist).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /se̞ɾ/

Verb

ser (first-person singular present soy, first-person singular preterite fui, past participle sido)

  1. to be (essentially or identified as).
    Yo soy de los Estados Unidos.—“I am from the United States.”
    Errar es humano.—“To err is human.”
  2. to be (in the passive voice sense)
    La guitarra fue tocada.—“The guitar was played.”
  3. to exist; to occur
    La fiesta será mañana.—“The party will be tomorrow.”

Conjugation

Usage notes

Portuguese and Spanish have two different verbs that are usually translated to English as “to be”: ser relates to essence, contrasting with estar, which relates to state. Contrast the following:

  • El hombre está feliz.—“The man is [currently] happy.”
  • El hombre es feliz.—“The man is [always] happy.”
  • ¿Estás loco?—“Are you crazy [currently out of your mind]?”
  • ¿Eres loco?—“Are you crazy [an insane person]?”
  • El hombre está en España. — “The man is [currently] in Spain.”
  • El hombre es de España. — “The man is [originally] from Spain.”

See also

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

  1. A being, organism.
  2. Nature, essence
  3. Value, worth

Related terms


Swedish

Verb

ser

  1. present tense of se.

Turkish

Etymology

From Persian سر (sar)

Noun

ser (definite accusative }}}, plural }}})

  1. (archaic) head

Synonyms


Volapük

Numeral

ser

  1. zero

Welsh

Noun

ser m (plural serod or seroedd)

  1. billhook, sickle, scythe
  2. (dictionary) sword

Synonyms

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
ser unchanged unchanged unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References