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As a continental, I would normally use serie to describe a single set, and series to describe multiple sets:

  • I own a BWM 1 Serie, but I own a collection of 5 Series
  • My favourite TV serie is The Simpsons, but I also like other series

In English, series is normally singular (like in the Latin etymon seriēs), e.g. BMW 1 Series.

a :a number of things or events of the same class coming one after another in spatial or temporal succession
// a concert series
// the hall opened into a series of small rooms
b :a set of regularly presented television programs each of which is complete in itself
Merriam-Webster

However, I have also come across serie for the singular, e.g. in this JuPyteR Notebook on computing on tensors using FHE (1st sentence).

Is it ok to use serie? Are there specific contexts in which it is permissible?

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    German and French have depluralized the Latin series to get Serie and série. This is ungrammatical in English and Latin, where the singular of series is series.
    – Peter Shor
    Oct 2, 2022 at 14:41
  • @PeterShor Thank you, I confirm this also for Dutch (and Zeeuws). I looked further, if English follows Latin, the only correct way is when it is ablative, as in: in serie.
    – Bastiaan Quast
    Oct 3, 2022 at 19:38
  • Related: When did "serie" become obsolete in English?
    – ermanen
    Oct 11, 2022 at 14:31
  • The words "serie" doesn't appear in the link. It was likely a typo.
    – jimm101
    Oct 11, 2022 at 15:50

1 Answer 1

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There is no such word as serie in English. Series is a singular noun, derived from Latin, which just happens to end in 's'.

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  • Out of curiosity, what would be the plural of series?
    – Michael
    Oct 3, 2022 at 22:17
  • The same. We don't say 'serieses'.
    – Kate Bunting
    Oct 4, 2022 at 7:07
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    OED lists the word serie with the meaning "A single series (in various senses), as distinguished from series used as a plural; (also) a member of a series." but adds that it is often criticized as nonstandard or incorrect. The citations given are either about how it would be correct or incorrect in usage. Although, I agree that native speakers wouldn't use it in colloquial speech.
    – ermanen
    Oct 11, 2022 at 13:50
  • You are right of course but I fail to understand why people don't just look stuff up in reliable dictionaries. Serie, indeed. Nowadays, that's Siri. [guffaw]
    – Lambie
    Oct 11, 2022 at 16:09
  • @KateBunting Exactly. And we don't say "sheeps" or, usually, "fishes" either. Some English words have no plural form.
    – BoldBen
    Oct 12, 2022 at 7:01

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