OriginBorrowed from French serré, past participle of serrer, from Middle French serrer, from Old French serrer, from Vulgar Latin *serrare (“close, shut”), from Late Latin serare (“fasten, bolt”), from Latin sera (“a bar, bolt”), akin to Latin serere (“to join or bind together”). Compare French serrer (“to tighten”) and Spanish cerrar (“to shut, close”).
- dated, literary, poeticTo crowd, press together, or close (rank)
“High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones,
Round, square, and angular, serry and shove”
“thrive the serried flocks and herds.”
Formsserries(present, singular, third-person) · serrying(participle, present) · serried(participle, past) · serried(past)