ser

English

Etymology 1

Noun

ser

1. Abbreviation of serial.

Etymology 2

Noun

ser (plural sers)

1. (historical) An old Indian unit of weight, equal to 80 tolas, or one fortieth of a maund.

Etymology 3

From sir.

Noun

ser (plural sers)

1. (in some fantasy and sci-fi 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?

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Anagrams

• -ers, ERS, ERs, ESR, RSE, Res., SRE, ers, res

Asturian

Etymology

From Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/,

Verb

ser

1. to be

Conjugation

• Gramática de la Llingua Asturiana
• Normes ortográfiques
• Oslin-Ast

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being

Derived terms

• ser humanu

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

Catalan

Alternative forms

• ésser

Etymology 1

Perhaps borrowed from Aragonese or Spanish ser. Doublet of ésser.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

ser (first-person singular present soc, first-person singular preterite fui, past participle estat or sigut); root stress: (Central, Valencian, Balearic) /e/

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) auxiliary verb to form the passive voice, together with a past participle

   han estat enganyats

   they have been deceived

Usage notes

• This is one of two verbs that can be translated as to be, the other being estar. Ser/ésser indicates an inherent quality, 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

Derived terms

• o sigui
• semblar ser

Etymology 2

Nominalization of Etymology 1.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Valencian)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) unknown

Noun

ser m (plural sers)

1. being (living creature)

Further reading

• “ser” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “ser” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology 1

From clipping of English server.

Pronunciation

Noun

ser

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, computing) server (Classifier: 個／个 c; 部 c)

Derived terms

See also

• server

Etymology 2

From clipping of English search.

Alternative forms

• sear

Pronunciation

Verb

ser

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, computing) to search on the Internet; to google

See also

• search (soe1 cyu4)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Verb

ser

1. second-person singular imperative of srát

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/,

Verb

ser

1. present of se

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ser, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The forms son (“I am”) and sodes pl (“you are”) derive from a Vulgar Latin *sonō and *sutis.

Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Galician-Portuguese seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”). The latter supplied the present subjunctive of modern ser, where /-ʃ-/ reflects Late Latin /-(d)j-/, as in sexa < sedeat).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Hyphenation: ser

Verb

ser (first-person singular present son, first-person singular preterite fun, past participle sido)
ser (first-person singular present sou, first-person singular preterite fum or fui, past participle sido, reintegrationist norm)

1. to be

   Eu non sei como esto sexa, ou debe de ser envexa do ben que a España facés.

   I don't know how this is, or must be jealous of the good you are doing to Spain.

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

Derived terms

• ser quen (“to be able to; to dare”)

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being (living creature)

See also

• estar

Further reading

• “ser” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: ser
• Rhymes: -ɛr

Noun

ser (countable and uncountable, plural serek)

1. (archaic, dialectal, humorous) Alternative form of sör (“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, almost only sör is used.

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• ser , redirecting to sör in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Italian

Etymology

Clipping of messer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛr/
• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Hyphenation: sèr

Noun

ser m

1. (historical) sir (title and form of address for a gentleman, shortened from messer)

   Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ― Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (literally, “Leonardo son of Peter, from Vinci”)

Ladino

Verb

ser (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling סיר)

1. to be

Lolopo

Etymology

From Proto-Loloish *swa² (Bradley), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan. Cognate with Burmese သွား (swa:), Japhug tɯɕɣa, Tibetan སོ (so), Drung sa, Tedim Chin ha:², Jingpho wa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

ser 

1. (Yao'an) tooth

Mauritian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛː/

Etymology 1

From French sœur.

Noun

ser

1. sister

   Synonym: didi

Etymology 2

From French cher.

Adjective

ser

1. dear
2. expensive

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

     Garijn, sir Diederec's son

   • 1414, Hennen van Merchtenen's Cornicke van Brabant (INL)

     Als ijemen sterven plach, hinc men daer teken ser wapen

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “ser (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

ser

1. Alternative form of sire
   • 1407, The Testimony of William Thorpe, page 40:

     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.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Etymology 2

Noun

ser

1. Alternative form of sere (“dry”)

Etymology 3

Adjective

ser

1. Alternative form of sere (“differing”)

Mirandese

Etymology

From Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/

Verb

ser

1. to be (indicates a permanent quality)

Conjugation

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being

See also

• star

Northern Kurdish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Iranian *cŕ̥Hah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ćŕ̥Has (“head, top”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱŕ̥h₂-os, derived from the root *ḱerh₂- (“head, horn”).

Alternative forms

• sarî

Noun

ser m (Arabic spelling سەر)

1. (anatomy) head

   Synonym: kelle

2. point, tip
3. beginning, start
4. end, extremity

Declension

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Preposition

ser (Arabic spelling سەر)

1. on

   Antonym: bin

   li ser maseyê ― on the table

References

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “ser I”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 2), volume 2, London: Transnational Press, page 233
• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “ser II”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 2), volume 2, London: Transnational Press, page 234

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/
• Rhymes: -eːr

Verb

ser

1. present of se

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

ser

1. present 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

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

ser

Wikipedia ^pl

Alternative forms

• syr (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish syr, from Proto-Slavic *syrъ. Doublet of żur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Syllabification: ser
• Homophone: sir

Noun

ser m inan (diminutive serek, related adjective serowy or (obsolete) serny)

1. (uncountable) cheese (dairy product made from curdled or cultured milk)

   Hypernym: nabiał

2. (countable) cheese (any particular variety of cheese)
3. (countable) cheese (piece of cheese, especially one moulded into a large round shape during manufacture)

   Hypernym: porcja

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• ser in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• ser in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “ser”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna

Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese ser, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The forms sou (“I am”) and sois pl (“you are”) derive from a Vulgar Latin *sonō and *sutis.

Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Galician-Portuguese seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”). The latter supplied the present subjunctive of modern ser, where /-ʒ-/ reflects Late Latin /-(d)j-/, as in seja < sedeat).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Homophones: sê (Brazil), cê (Brazil) (with -r dropping)
• Hyphenation: ser

Verb

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

2. (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 looking beautiful, but she is not beautiful.

4. (transitive) to be (to be an example or type of, or the same as)

   Pessoas são mamíferos.

   People are mammals.

   A soma de um e dois é três.

   The sum of one and two is three.

6. (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.

8. (impersonal) to be (indicates a point in time)

   Que horas são?

   What time is it?

   São cinco horas.

   It is five o’clock.

10. (transitive with em or another locational preposition) to be in (to be located in)

    Synonyms: ficar em, localizar-se em

    Minha casa é num bairro pobre.

    My house is in a poor neighbourhood.

    Onde são essas cidades?

    Where are these cities?

12. (transitive with de) to be from (to have as one’s place of origin)

    Synonym: vir de

    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.

14. (transitive with de) to be (someone’s); to belong to

    Synonym: pertencer a

    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.

16. (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)

    Synonym: servir para

    Esse tipo de faca é para cortar tomates.

    This type of knife is for cutting tomatoes.

18. (impersonal, auxiliary with para and a verb in the personal infinitive) to be supposed to; should (introduces an expected or demanded action)

    Synonym: dever

    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.

20. (transitive) to be; to cost (to be worth a given amount of money)

    Synonyms: custar, valer

    Duas maçãs são dez centavos.

    Two apples are ten cents.

22. (intransitive) to happen; to take place; to occur

    Synonyms: acontecer, haver, ocorrer, ter, produzir-se, realizar-se, sobrevir, suceder

    O que será, será.

    Whatever happens happens.

    Quando é seu aniversário?

    When is your birthday?

24. (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.

26. (poetic, intransitive) to exist; to be

    O mal não é.

    Evil does not exist.

28. (impersonal, transitive) used for emphasis

    Eu é que vim.

    I’m the one who came here.

Usage notes

Portuguese has 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 happy.
• O homem é feliz. ― The man is happy.
• Você está louco? ― Are you crazy ?
• Você é louco? ― Are you crazy ?
• Ela está em casa. ― She is at home.
• Ela é do Brasil. ― She is from Brazil.

Conjugation

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ser.

Synonyms

• (forms the passive voice): any reflexive pronoun

See also

• estar
• ter
• haver

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. being (a living creature)

   Synonyms: criatura, ente

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ser.

Derived terms

• ser humano
• ser vivo

Romanian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ser/

Noun

ser n (plural seruri)

1. serum

Declension

Romansch

Verb

ser (Sursilvan)

1. Alternative form of seser

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *śěrъ.

Adjective

sẹ̑r (comparative bȍlj sẹ̑r, superlative nȁjbolj sẹ̑r)

1. (archaic) grey, gray (color/colour)

   Synonym: siv

Etymology 2

Noun

sȇr m anim

1. vulture of the genus Gypaetus

   brkati ser ― bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus)

Further reading

• “ser”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran

Spanish

Etymology

From Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The form sois pl (“you are”) derives from a Vulgar Latin *sutis.

Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Spanish seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/
• Rhymes: -eɾ
• Syllabification: ser

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.

   • 2007, El Sueño de Morfeo, Nada es Suficiente:

     ¿Qué voy a ser si te he dado lo que soy?

     What am I going to be if I've given you what I am?

   • 2007, El Sueño de Morfeo, Para Toda la Vida:

     Si fueras una gota de agua, nadie volvería a tener sed

     If you were a drop of water, no one would thirst again

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.

Usage notes

• Spanish has 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 happy.
• El hombre es feliz. ― The man is happy.
• ¿Estás loco? ― Are you crazy ?
• ¿Eres loco? ― Are you crazy ?
• El hombre está en España. ― The man is in Spain.
• El hombre es de España. ― The man is from Spain.
• ¿Cómo estás? ― How are you?
• ¿Cómo eres? ― What are you like?

However, when stating the location of an object (but not an event), estar is used whether the location is permanent or not:

• Madrid está en el centro de España. ― Madrid is in central Spain.

Conjugation

Derived terms

See also

• estar

Noun

ser m (plural seres)

1. a being, organism
2. nature, essence
3. value, worth

Related terms

Further reading

• “ser”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːr/

Verb

ser

1. present indicative of se

Anagrams

• ers, res

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English sir.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈseɾ/,

Noun

ser (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜇ᜔)

1. (colloquial) sir (A respectful term of address to a man of higher rank or position [often older], especially if his name or proper title is unknown)

   Synonyms: ginoo, maginoo

Related terms

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Persian سر (sar).

Noun

ser (definite accusative seri, plural serler)

1. (archaic) head

Synonyms

• (head): baş, kafa

Etymology 2

Verb

ser

1. second-person singular imperative of sermek

Volapük

Numeral

ser

1. zero

Welsh

Etymology

From Old Welsh serr, Proto-Celtic *serrā. Cf. Middle Irish serr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛr/

Noun

ser m (plural serrod or serroedd, not mutable)

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

Synonyms

• (scythe): pladur

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ser”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
• Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN