several

English

Alternative forms

• severall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman several, from Medieval Latin sēparālis, from Latin sēpar (“separate”). By surface analysis, sever +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɛv(ə)ɹəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sev‧er‧al, seve‧ral

Adjective

several (comparative more several, superlative most several)

1. (obsolete) Separate, distinct; particular. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Here is the will, and under Caesar's seal.
     To every Roman citizen he gives,
     to every several man, seventy-five drachmas.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 42, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     He had a religion apart: a God severall unto himselfe, whom his subjects might no waies adore.

   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], chapter II, in The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, , section i:

     So one thing may be good and bad to several parties, upon diverse occasions.

   • 1852, Washington Irving, Tales from the Alhambra:

     the hearts of the three cavaliers were completely captured, especially as gratitude was added to their admiration; it is a little singular, however, though no less certain, that each of them was enraptured with a several beauty.

   • 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):

     Each several ship a victory did gain.

   • 1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC:

     Each might his several province well command,
     Would all but stoop to what they understand.

2. A number of different; various. [from 16th c.]
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     […] for several virtues
     Have I lik'd several women; never any
     With so full soul but some defect in her
     Did quarrel with the noblest grace she ow'd,
     And put it to the foil […].

   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Simulation and Dissimulation”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     habits and faculties, several, and to be distinguished

   • 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

     Four several armies to the field are led.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     Hence arose a dispute between the learned men, in which each delivered the reasons of their several opinions.

3. (law) Separable, capable of being treated separately.

Derived terms

• have several seats
• joint and several
• several fishery

Determiner

several

1. Consisting of a number more than one (especially, more than two) but not very many. [from 17th c.]

   Synonyms: a few, a couple of

   Antonyms: one; zero, no; many, numerous; countless

   Hypernyms: multiple, various

   Coordinate term: a handful of

   Several cars were in the parking lot.

   They had many journals. I subscribed to several.

   Several of the members were absent.

   • 1784, William Jones, The Description and Use of a New Portable Orrery, &c., preface:

     The favourable reception the Orrery has met with from Perſons of the firſt diſtinction, and from Gentlemen and Ladies in general, has induced me to add to it ſeveral new improvements in order to give it a degree of Perfection; and diſtinguiſh it from others ; which by Piracy, or Imitation, may be introduced to the Public.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.

   • 6 November 2004, The Guardian:

     Several people were killed and around 150 injured after a high-speed train hit a car on a level crossing and derailed tonight.

   • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:

     The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

Usage notes

• Some dictionaries and many older grammars put several into the word class 'pronoun' in many of its uses.
• To some speakers, several means "more than one but not very many"; to some others, it means "more than two but not very many." The sole difference is whether two things count as several, when the counting is not precise (especially in situations where it may change at any instant, such as several birds in the yard). A similar variability likewise applies to a few, as well as a couple of versus a couple of.

Derived terms

• severally
• several states
• take several seats

 

Translations

consisting of a number more than two, but not very many

• Arabic: بَعْض (baʕḍ), عِدَّة (ʕidda)
• Armenian: մի քանի (mi kʻani)
• Bashkir: бер нисә (ber nisə)
• Basque: hainbat
• Belarusian: не́калькі (be) pl (njékalʹki)
• Bulgarian: няколко (bg) (njakolko)
• Chinese:

  Eastern Min: 几其 (gui gi, gui i)

  Mandarin: 幾個／几个 (zh) (jǐgè, jǐge), 些 (zh) (xiē)

• Czech: několik (cs)
• Dutch: meerdere (nl), verscheidene (nl)
• Esperanto: kelkaj (eo), diversaj, pluraj (eo)
• Estonian: mitu (et)
• Finnish: usea (fi)
• French: plusieurs (fr) pl
• Georgian: რამდენიმე (ramdenime)
• German: mehrere (de), einige (de)
• Greek: αρκετός (el) (arketós)
• Haitian Creole: plizyè
• Hindi: कई (hi) (kaī)
• Hungarian: több (hu), számos (hu)
• Ido: plura (io)
• Interlingua: plure, varie
• Italian: diversi (it) m pl
• Japanese: いくらかの (ikuraka no), (of people) 数人の (ja) (すうにんの, sūnin no), (of objects) 数個の (すうこの, sūko no)
• Khmer: បីបួន (bəy buən), បួនដប់ (buən dɑp), ប៉ុន្មាន (km) (ponmaan)
• Korean: 여러 (ko) (yeoreo), 몇 (ko) (myeot)
• Latin: aliquot (la), complures
• Macedonian: неколку (mk) (nekolku)
• Malayalam: നിരവധി (ml) (niravadhi)
• Manx: shiartanse
• Mongolian: хэд хэдэн (xed xeden)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: flere (no), fler (no)

• Occitan: mantun (oc)
• Persian: چند (fa) (čand)
• Polish: kilka (pl)
• Portuguese: muitos (pt), vários (pt), diversos (pt), alguns (pt) m pl
• Romanian: câțiva m, câteva f
• Russian: не́сколько (ru) (néskolʹko)
• Serbo-Croatian: neki, nekoliko (sh)
• Slovak: niekoľko
• Slovene: nekoliko
• Spanish: varios (es) m pl, varias (es) f pl
• Swedish: flera (sv)
• Thai: หลาย (th) (lǎai)
• Turkish: birkaç (tr)
• Ukrainian: де́кілька (dékilʹka), кі́лька (uk) (kílʹka)
• Urdu: کئی (kaī)
• Vietnamese: dăm (vi) (about five), vài (vi) (two or three)
• Yiddish: עטלעך (etlekh)
• Zazaki: çend (diq)

obsolete: separate, distinct

• Estonian: mõni (et)
• Finnish: eri (fi)
• Hungarian: saját (hu), önálló (hu), egyéni (hu)
• Japanese: (of people) めいめいの (meimei no), (of objects) それぞれの (sorezore no)
• Macedonian: некој m (nekoj), некои pl (nekoi)
• Portuguese: diverso (pt), distinto (pt)
• Russian: не́который (ru) (nékotoryj)
• Zazaki: tay

diverse; different; various

• Amharic: የተለያዩ (yätäläyayu)
• Azerbaijani: müxtəlif (az)
• Esperanto: diversa
• Estonian: eri
• Finnish: eri (fi)
• Hungarian: különböző (hu), különféle (hu)
• Italian: vari (it)
• Japanese: 別々の (ja) (betsubetsu no), 異なった (kotonatta), 独自の (ja) (dokuji no), 個別の (ja) (kobetsu no)
• Portuguese: vários (pt)
• Russian: разли́чный (ru) (razlíčnyj)
• Slovak: rozličný, rôzny
• Turkish: çeşitli (tr), muhtelif (tr)
• Zazaki: babet

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} عَدِيد (ʕadīd)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} verscheidene (nl), ^{(please verify)} divers (nl)
• German: ^{(please verify)} verschiedene (de), ^{(please verify)} einige (de)
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} plura (io)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 여럿의 (ko) (yeoreosui)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 數個／数个, ^{(please verify)} 数个 (shùgè), ^{(please verify)} 幾個／几个 (zh) (jǐgè), ^{(please verify)} 几个 (zh) (jǐge)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} nekoliko (sh)
• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} niekoľko

See also

• sever

Adverb

several (not comparable)

1. By itself; severally.
   • 1551, Thomas More, “(please specify the Internet Archive page)”, in Raphe Robynson [i.e., Ralph Robinson], transl., A Fruteful, and Pleasaunt Worke of the Best State of a Publyque Weale, and of the Newe Yle Called Utopia: […], London: […] [Steven Mierdman for] Abraham Vele, […], →OCLC:

     Every kind of thing is laid up several in barns or storehouses.

Noun

several (plural severals)

1. (obsolete) An area of land in private ownership (as opposed to common land).
2. Each particular taken singly; an item; a detail; an individual. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
3. (archaic) An enclosed or separate place; enclosure. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
4. (archaic) A woman's loose outer garment, capable of being worn as a shawl, or in other forms.

Translations

obsolete: an area of land in private ownership

• Finnish: omaperäismaa (archaic)

each particular taken singly; an item; a detail; an individual

• Japanese: (of people) 数人 (ja) (すうにん, sūnin), (of objects) 数個 (すうこ, sūko)

archaic: an enclosed or separate place; enclosure

• Japanese: 別々 (ja) (betsubetsu), 独自 (ja) (dokuji), 個別 (ja) (kobetsu)

See also

• Thesaurus:quantifier

References

• “several”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “several”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Leavers, laveers, leavers, reveals, vealers

Old French

Adjective

several m (oblique and nominative feminine singular severale)

1. separate

Declension

Declension of several

Number	Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Singular	Subject	severaus	severale	several
	Oblique	several			severale	several
Plural	Subject	several	severales		several
	Oblique	severaus			severales	several

Noun

several oblique singular, m (oblique plural severaus or severax or severals, nominative singular severaus or severax or severals, nominative plural several)

1. one's own property or possession

Related terms

• sevrer
• desevrer

Descendants

• English: several

References

• several on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub