- serial (adj.)
- 1840, from series + -al (1); popularized in reference to Dickens' novels, published one part at a time (as opposed to all at once, in a book). Found to be a useful word and given wide application. Serial number first recorded 1935. Serial killer is first attested 1981 (in relation to John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy), though serial had been used in connection with murders since the early 1960s. Related: Serially.
- serial (n.)
- 1846, from serial (adj.).