Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Several in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels several as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Several

[OF., fr. LL. separalis, fr. L. separ separate, different. See Sever, Separate.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordseveral
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[OF., fr. LL. separalis, fr. L. separ separate, different. See Sever, Separate.]
Selected historical definitionSeparate; distinct; particular; single.
Signed record IDwebster1913-several-adjective-bf70a6833534
Source locatorCIDE.S, paragraph 6877; Gutenberg eBook 668
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 668Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "several" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OF., fr. LL. separalis, fr. L. separ separate, different. See Sever, Separate.]" The selected historical definition says: "Separate; distinct; particular; single."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released S records

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adjective

Still

[OE. stille, AS. stille; akin to D. stil, OS. & OHG. stilli, G. still, Dan. stille, Sw. stilla, and to E. stall; from the idea of coming to a stand, or halt. Cf. Still, adv.]

Webster 1913 exact recordverb

Support

[F. supporter, L. supportare to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain; sub under + portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Season

[OE. sesoun, F. saison, properly, the sowing time, fr. L. satio a sowing, a planting, fr. serere, satum, to sow, plant; akin to E. sow, v., to scatter, as seed.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Story

[OE. storie, OF. estoire, F. histoire, fr. L. historia. See History.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Single

[L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See Simple, and cf. Singular.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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