▪ I. several, a., adv., and n.
(ˈsɛvərəl)
Also 4–8 -all, (5 -ell, -ele, pl. -alx), 5–6 el(le, alle, (7 -ale); poet. 7–8 sev'ral (7 -all).
[a. AF. several adj. and n. (whence med.L. severālis), ad. med.L. sēparālis (neut. n. -āle), f. L. sēpar separate, distinct.
Seuerel in Trevisa's translation (1387) of Higden's Polychronicon (Rolls) VIII. 49 (MS. St. John's, Camb. H 1) ‘seuerel werkes’, is an error for servile.]
A. adj. I. Existing apart, separate.
† 1. Having a position, existence, or status apart; separate, distinct: (a) in predicative use. Obs.
| 1422 Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. xlvi. 209 So oweste thow, Alexander, to haue v messagers and v consaillours, and euery of tham shall be seuerall [orig. per se separatus]. c 1430 Freemasonry (ed. Halliw. 1844) 22 The thrydde poynt most be severele, With the prentes knowe hyt wele, Hys mayster cownsel he kepe and close, And hys felows by his goode purpose. 1539 Bible (Great) 2 Chron. xxvi. 21 Uzia.. dwelt seuerall in an house [1611 in a seueral house] beynge a leper. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 145 Varro doth commend sundry little flocks kept seueral, rather then greate flockes together. 1612 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 109 Many Mahumetans be also found..both several in sundry provinces, and otherwise mingled with idolaters. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. i. 243 Severall are the causes of Favourites falls,..different the degrees and manner of their ruine. 1652 Sparke Prim. Devot. (1660) 553 Mistaking the Son of Alphæus, and St. James the Brother of our Lord, for several; which were but one and the same person. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 330 Keeping the Delivery of others Opinions and my own severall. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 334 Then grind or beat them, keeping the Fruit several, in case you have enough to fill a Vessel of one kind. |
(b) in attributive use, with a and pl.
| 1511 Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 79 They haue..seuerall cloysters and seuerall lodgynges, but they kepe all theyr dyuine seruyce in one quere al togyther. a 1533 Frith Disput. Purgat. i. (end) F vij, What soeuer is not answered in this parte, shalbe..fully conuynced in the thyrde, which shall be a seuerall boke agaynst my lorde of Rochestre. 1594 Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 5 Receaue the oile into a seuerall glasse by it selfe. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 3 If you shoulde aske them, why two men of one name should not both giue one Armes? they will straight answere you, that they be of seuerall houses. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire ii. (1891) 33 In seuerall and lone houses. 1620 E. Blount Horæ Subs. 518 The commixture of seuerall sexes, which we call Marriage. 1635 Swan Spec. M. iv. §2 (1643) 60 Every scale of an onyon is a severall and differing scale. 1690 Milton Hist. Eng. ii. (end), But so different a state of things requires a several relation. a 1700 Evelyn Diary June 1645, From hence we visited St. Spirito and St. Lawrence, faire Churches in severall islands. 1700 Dryden Fables Pref. *C 1 b, The Reeve, the Miller, and the Cook, are several Men. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 311 It is the custom of Providence to perfect mighty works by a multitude of..instruments, each performing a small and several part of the whole. |
† b. Separate, distinct, or different from. Obs.
| 1533 Tindale Supper of Lord Wks. (1573) 467/2 So be we now by Baptisme rekened to bee consigned vnto Christes Church seuerall from Iewes, paynyms, &c. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. ii. xxvi, The thirde likeiamme..hathe his grounde line.., seuerall from the other, but yet equall vnto it. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 373 b, It [penance] is also a severall Sacrament from Baptisme. 1566 T. Stapleton Ret. Untr. Jewel iii. 58 Saint Luke.., if that crye of the Lycaonians hade bene in greke, woulde not haue termed it a seuerall language from the greke, as he doth, calling it Lycaonicall. 1599 Broughton's Lett. xii. 40 Christianity hath vsed many words in seuerall sence from the common phrase. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus iii. 1 But the precept is entire of it selfe, and seuerall from the other before. 1636 Recorde's Gr. Artes 302 Either the whole number is seuerall from the Fraction..or else the whole number is ioyned with one, or both of the Fractions. |
† c. With reference to function or use: Distinctive, particular. Obs.
| 1564–5 Form Prayers Genev. & Scot. (1584) H 8, That the Minister..also vse some forme of prayer..to the which he may appoint..some seuerall daye after the Sermon, weekely to be obserued. 1582 Bentley Mon. Matrones To Rdr. B 3, Vnder the pretense of seuerall deuotion to commit manifold vngodlinesse. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus ii. 79 b, Euery one..doth seruice to all the gods indifferently, no man being clarked or chosen to be the seuerall minister of any one god alone. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 681/2 All men should marke theyr cattell with an open severall marke upon theyr flanckes. 1614 Camden Rem., Armories 178 The ancient Picts and Britans..adorned their bodies with figures and blazons of diuers colours, which they coniecture to haue bene seuerall for particular families. 1648 Gage West Ind. 214 There are no severall terminations for cases, as in Latine. |
† d. Acting separately or individually; having separate responsibility. Obs.
| 1466 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 322 That every person..have his accion of trespas agaynes all manner person or persones of Chester..juncte or severell at his plesyre. 1475 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 312 The payne..to be levid by thofficers and by every of them, juncte and severall. |
2. Qualifying a pl. n.: Individually separate; different. a. Preceded by an adj. of number or plurality.
| 1448 in Wars Eng. in France (Rolls) I. 483 There is due unto him the somme of vij. c. xlij. li...as by iij. severalx accomptes. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 127 Although diuerse..learned men haue made one herbe of Thymbra and satureya, yet it is playne..that they are two seuerall herbes. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 42 Two seuerall Iohns, the father and the sonne, that had beene both recusants. 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. ii. 20 An exact command, Larded with many seuerall sorts of reason. 1617 Abp. Abbot Descr. World (1634) 91 China..containeth in it very many severall Kingdomes. 1641 R. Brooke Disc. Nat. Episc. ii. iv. 75 The word Elder, is used twenty severall times in the New Testament. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 70 All these Days entirely spent in many several Voyages. 1800 Wordsw. Hart-Leap Well 67 Three several pillars, each a rough⁓hewn stone. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such i. 3 Three several times astonished. |
b. Preceded by the def. article, a possessive, etc.: Each and all of the, these, † one's (etc.) various or different.
| 1445 tr. Claudian in Anglia XXVIII. 279 So that yf thou woldist nat enclyne to her severel preyers At Romys request thou sholdist not lette her wille soon to perfourme. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. ii. 78, I doe not like these seuerall Councels. 1596 ― Merch. V. ii. vii. 2 Draw aside the curtaines, and discouer The seuerall Caskets to this noble Prince. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 33 Hee had well viewed her seuerall forces. 1681 Popple tr. Locke's 1st Let. Toleration L.s' Wks. 1727 II. 253 All the several separate Congregations,..will watch one another. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 205 ¶2 Besides a great many little Blemishes which you have touched upon in your several other Papers. 1731–8 Swift Pol. Conversat. Introd. 39 In the Compass of my own several Acquaintance. 1794 Ld. Grenville in Paget Papers (1896) I. 64 Your several Dispatches have been duly received and laid before the King. 1844 Lingard Anglo-Saxon Ch. (1858) II. x. 107 During the several weeks which they spent on the coast of Natolia. 1866 J. Martineau Ess. I. 198 Now combine these several propositions. 1893 Sir R. Ball Story of Sun 1 It is to the control of the Sun that the several planets are indebted for the regulation of their movements. |
c. Without limiting word: A number of different; various, divers, sundry. (Now merged in 4.)
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xliii. (1555) 212 Whose goodly stories in tongues severall About were sent for to be perpetuall. 1563 Homilies II. Almsdeeds i. 168 b, When seuerall matters are seuerally handeled. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. i. ii. 320, I will this Night, In seuerall Hands, in at his Windowes throw, As if they came from seuerall Citizens, Writings. 1628 T. Spencer Logick 12 Seuerall respects of things, considered alone, and by themselues. 1650 Fuller Pisgah i. iv. 11 Dates, Almonds, Nuts,..and other severall fruits. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iii. vi. §25 Were they Nature's Workmanship, they could not be so various..in several Men. 1710 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. i. ii. (1743) 329 It seems to have been built at several times, and by different Persons. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 51 Two or three lenses may be kept, of several focal lengths. 1855 J. Phillips Man. Geol. 206 Upper limestone, cavernous, with coral bands in several stages. |
d. In legal use: More than one.
| 1531 Dial. Laws Eng. i. viii. 15 b, They be set in this writyng for seuerall groundes and he that lysteth may so accompt them, or if he wyll he may take them for one grounde after his pleasure. 1628 Coke On Litt. iii. i. §241. 164 They be but one heire, and yet seuerall persons. 1824 Stephen Princ. Pleading 279 The use of several counts, and the allowance of several pleas. 1853 in W. Williams Introd. Pleading (1857) 307 Several pleas, replications or subsequent pleadings, or several avowries or cognizances founded on the same ground of answer or defence. Ibid., Several counts on the same cause of action shall not be allowed. |
3. Being one of a number of individuals of the same class. a. every several or each several: every or each individual or single.
| a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 112 Under the sealls of every severall unyversitie. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 2 That euery seuerall person, aswell horsemen as footemen should carye a greene bough in his hand. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. ii. 108 Ile kisse each seuerall paper, for amends. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 237 The tearing of euery seuerall hayre seemed vnto him the plucking out of so many eyes out of his head. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 193 Without the consent of every severall Province. 1823 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) I. vi. 214 Each several person wishes each several cardinal a happy conclave. 1847 Mrs. Gore Castles in Air xviii. (1857) 154 Unless the families said to inhabit Bark's Buildings were hoisted up by the crane attached to each several house. 1861 Manning in Ess. Relig. & Lit. Ser. i. (1865) 39 Every several Greek is bound to submit to the Catholic Church, one by one. 1883 Parry in Grove's Dict. Mus. III. 477/2 Any of its elements can be treated as the discordant note, with the result of leading to a different key in each several case. |
† b. a several or one several: a single, one and only one. Also many a several = many a. Obs.
| 1543 Necessary Doctr. F iij, The church of Rome being but a seuerall church, chalenginge that name of Catholyke aboue all other. 1563 Homilies II. Prayer i. 122 b, Why dyd the Apostles immediatly after his ascention, gather them selues together into one seuerall place? 1582 N.T. (Rhem.) Rev. xxi. 21 Every gate was of one several pearle. 1597 Shakes. Lover's Compl. 206 These tallents of their heir,..I haue receau'd from many a seueral faire. |
4. As a vague numeral: Of an indefinite (but not large) number exceeding two or three; more than two or three but not very many. (The chief current sense.)
In earlier instances that may be brought under this definition, it is difficult to determine how far the sense of ‘different, various’ remains; cf. the remarks s.v. divers a. 3.
| ? 1661 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 6 During which times he received severall sums of money to the value of 300l. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 154 The current having forc'd the Ship upon the shore, where we were constrained to stay for several hours. 1671 Milton P.R. iii. 276 Ninevee, of length within her wall Several days journey. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 159 ¶1 When I was at Grand Cairo, I picked up several Oriental Manuscripts. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. vi. 65 A thong of several fathoms in length,..with a running noose at one end of it. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. v. 37 Which may be seen by several hundred persons at once. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. iv, Some of the men..remembered..to have seen several strangers on the road. |
† b. A good many. Obs.
| 1712 Swift Let. Eng. Tongue 24 Several young Men at the Universities, terribly possessed with the fear of Pedantry, run into a worse Extreme. 1733 Budgell Bee IV. 341 A French-Celtick, or French-British Dictionary..useful and curious..for finding the Etymology of several French and British Words. 1753 L. M. Accomplished Woman II. 26 We must not be surpris'd that this passion hath so great influence on the mind of several women. |
c. ellipt. and absol., esp. followed by of. a good several (nonce-use): a good many.
| 1685 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 340 His majestie hath turn'd off severall of his servants, as is said, near 200. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 7 The French are very numerous..over all the Levant, there not being a Port of Turkie upon the Mediterranean sea, wherein there are not several. 1705 Addison Italy Pref., There are still several of these Topicks that are far from being exhausted. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. x. 232 Commerce was the reigning passion of several of the European Princes. 1774 Chesterfield's Lett. to Son I. xi. 30 Cicero, the greatest Orator that Rome ever produced; although it produced several [orig. Fr. plusieurs]. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts etc. 605 France contains no workable gold mines; but it presents in several of its rivers auriferous sands. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xix. v. V. 525 A good several of them cut and wounded. 1883 Stevenson Treas. Isl. iv, While we could get several who were willing enough to ride to Dr. Livesey's. |
† 5. Consisting of different elements or parts; of diverse origin or composition. Chiefly poet.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 16 A heavy load he bare Of nightly stelths, and pillage severall. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV, cxxvi, How Richard fell, the various Reports Of many writing, make it seuerall; Some say that he was starv'd. a 1674 Milton Hist. Mosc. v. Wks. 1851 VIII. 515 Seventy Messes with three Carts of several Meath [i.e. mead = drink] sent after him. |
6. Comb. (parasynthetic).
| 1633 Shirley Triumph Peace i. i. Stage Direct., Fancy in a suit of several-coloured feathers, hooded, a pair of bat's wings on his shoulders. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xi. 201 There are several fashion'd Collers: As the Joynt-Coller marked G, the Round Coller marked H, and the Coller marked I, in Plate 13. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 181 Seeds nut-like, sometimes cohering into a several-celled putamen. 1866 Treas. Bot. s.v. Poa, The spikelets..are for the most part several-flowered and without awns. 1882 Symonds in Macm. Mag. XLV. 325 It is a several-chorded lute on which they play. 1882–4 Cooke Brit. Fresh-w. Algæ I. 270 Or even forming transverse, several-celled bands. |
II. Pertaining to an individual person or thing.
7. Chiefly Law. (Opposed to common.) Private; privately owned or occupied. a. of land, esp. of enclosed pasture.
| 1421 Cov. Leet Bk. 33 That þe Trinite gilde haue hur close feldis severell. c 1440 Jacob's Well 37 Þe tythe awȝte to be payed..of pasture, comoun & seuerall. 1483 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 257/1 All the seid XL Acres of Lande..as their proper and severall grounde and soil. 1580 Tusser Husb. (1878) 50 Good land that is seuerall, crops may haue three, in champion countrie it may not so bee. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 27 The commons..are inclosed, made seueral. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. i. iii. (1623) 42 This ground is best if it be seuerall and inclosed, yet may be bred vpon though it bee open and in common. a 1656 Vines Lord's Supper (1657) 183 A severall not a common field. |
b. Of a house, water, or any possession or commodity. Obs. exc. in several fishery, a right to fish derived through or on account of ownership of the soil.
| 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 2352 Sestow nat how a comoun welle Mor avaylleth..Than doth A-nother seuerel? a 1450 Fysshynge w. angle (1883) 35 That ye fysshe not in noo poore mannes seuerall water. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 401 The abbesse of Godestowe..yaf..to henry kyngeston and to william more, Fysshers, ther seuerell fysshwere in the subarbis of Oxenford that is I-called Charwelle. a 1547 T. Key Erasm. Par. Mark v. 35–43 This thyng dyd Iesus then in a nother mannes seuerall house. 1618 Dalton Countrey Justice ciii. (1630) 263 To take fishes that be kept in a trunke or severall pond. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 39 He that has a several fishery must also be the owner of the soil. 1842 Act 5 & 6 Vict. c. 106 §114 The Words ‘several Fishery’ shall, for the Purposes of this Act, be construed to mean an exclusive Fishery, possessed and enjoyed as such by virtue of Grant, Patent [etc.]. 1885 Act 48 & 49 Vict., c. 79 §3 A right of several fishery or of regulating a fishery shall not exceed sixty years. |
† c. Const. to, also by, for (the possessor); esp. to himself (etc.). Obs.
| 1423 Cov. Leet Bk. 47 The tenement..schal-be seuerall to þe priour of Couentre. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 284 The olyue that growyth in gardyns is seueral to the owners. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §18 He that hath a falowe felde, seueral to hym-selfe. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia i. (1895) 101 Here..euerye man hath hys possessyons seuerall to hymselfe, and there all thinges be common. 1593 Rites of Durham (Surtees 1903) 83 Euery one of the old monkes had his Carrell seuerall by him selfe. 1612 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. 112 The Jews have not for their mansion any peculiar countrey;..neither have they..any other region in the world, several to themselves. |
d. fig. and allusively.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 207 The bastyle. longith of verray dewe ryght, To fals bakerys it is trewe herytage, Severelle to them. 1526 Tindale Expos. Matt. v. (c 1550) 24 b, The lyght of Christes gospell may not bee hidden nor made a seuerall thinge, as though it parteyned to some certayne holy parsons onelye. 1569 in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. lv. 558 Many of your Disordered..Wives are much agrieved that Priests, which were wont to be Common, be now made Several. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 223 La. My lips are no Common, though seuerall they be. Bo. Belonging to whom? La. To my fortunes and me. c 1600 ― Sonn. cxxxvii, Why should my heart thinke that a seuerall plot, Which my heart knows the wide worlds common place? 1611 W. Sclater Key (1629) 303 So enuious is our nature, and so gladly would we make seuerall Gods common fauours. |
8. Belonging, attributed, or assigned distributively to certain individuals referred to; different for each respectively. a. Preceded by a possessive (or its equivalent) referring usually to a collective or distributive adj. or pron.; (a) qualifying a pl. n.
| 1457 in Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. Var. Coll. IV. 85 Bothe my lord and we haue now late writen vnto you diuers times our seueralx lettres of especial Recommendation. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 51 As to the body, there are many members, seruing to seuerall vses. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 285 Now I will set downe the divers moneys of Germany, with the severall values of them. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. i. xxxix, Bid each kinde their severall places fill. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 714 Swift to thir several Quarters hasted then The cumbrous Elements, Earth, Flood, Aire, Fire. a 1716 South Serm. (1744) X. 118 Moses and our Saviour Christ himself; both of them in their several times, the meekest persons upon the earth. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xxxviii, They embraced accordingly, and departed on their several roads. a 1842 Arnold Hist. Rome III. xliv. 175 The officers for the year being thus appointed, it remained to determine their several provinces. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 149 The Acharnians..did not attempt any united action, but guarded their several districts. |
(b) qualifying a sing. n.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 33 They are to be sowed in tyme and place as I haue tolde before, in my seuerall entreatyng of them. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. iii. 29 Good morrow masters, each his seuerall way. 1629 Milton Hymn Nativ. xxvi, Each fetter'd Ghost slips to his severall grave. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch viii, All in a shipwrack shift their severall way. c 1750 Shenstone Ruin'd Abbey 18 Ambitious to display Their several merit. 1807 Wordsw. White Doe i. 161 While each pursues his several road. 1866 Lowell Study Wind., Swinburne (1870) 214 Each was natural in his several way. 1894 K. Grahame Pagan P. 4 But most of them, avoiding classification, keep each his several tender significance. |
b. Preceded by the indef. article. Obs. or arch.
| 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. xv. 38 To every seed a severall body. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. i. (1879) 102 To euery dish a seuerall sawce appropriat to his kinde. 1634 Ford Perkin Warbeck Epil., Here ha's appear'd, though in a severall fashion, The Threats of Majestie; the strength of passion; Hopes of an Empire; change of fortunes. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. iii. (1636) 83, I finde added to the end of every Psalme a severall Prayer. 1672 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. ii. (Arb.) 77, I see, Sir, you have a several design for every Scene. 1707 Cibber Com. Lovers iv. Stage Direct., Florimel and Celadon walk carelessly by one another, humming a several Tune. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 237 Each individual seeks a sev'ral goal. 1879 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 3) 193 To observe the distinction..by a several [ed. 1871 distinct] orthography, writing the interjection wo, and the substantive woe. |
† (b) ellipt. Obs.
| 1628 Feltham Resolves i. xliii. 127 Opinions are as various, as false. Iudgement is from every tongue, a severall. 1651 Hobbes Gov. & Soc. vi. §1. 86 In neither sense can a multitude be understood to have one will given to it by nature, but to either a severall. 1670 J. Smith Eng. Improv. Reviv'd 182 Within these Ovals do grow Saffron, Anniseed, Carroway, and Coriander-seed in each Plot a several. |
† c. Preceded by other limiting words. Obs.
| 1614 R. Tailor Hog hath lost Pearl iii. E 1 b, Search through the guts of greatnes, and behold What seueral sin best pleas'd them. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. iv. §131 He repeated the Several, and Distinct discourse every man had made. |
d. Not preceded by a limiting word, and qualifying a sing. or pl. n. Obs. or arch.
| 1571 Digges Pantom. iii. xi. R iv, To teach seuerall rules for euery sorte it were ouer tediouse. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1428/1 My lord gaue to them seuerall thanks, and they seuerallie did giue to him the like. 1594 Drayton Idea xxxvii, How happy are all other liuing Things, Which though the Day dis-ioyne by seu'rall flight, The quiet Eu'ning yet together brings. 1615 T. Adams White Devil 2 Every one shewed him severall kindness. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 610 This said, they betook them several wayes. Ibid. 650 The Creator calling forth by name His mightie Angels gave them several charge. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 166 A mightier Pow'r the strong direction sends, And sev'ral Men impels to sev'ral ends. 1838 Wordsw. ‘Serving no haughty Muse’ 4 My hands have here Disposed some cultured Flowerets..Each kind in several beds of one parterre. |
9. Law. (Opposed to joint.) Pertaining separately to each of the tenants of an estate, parties to a bond or suit, etc. Of inheritance, tail: By which land is conveyed or entailed to two persons separately by moieties. Of an obligation to which several are parties: Enforceable against each of the parties independently of the others. several tenancy: see quot. 1607.
| 1532 Dial. Laws Eng. ii. xxx. 64 That writte lyeth where two presente by seuerall tytles. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures 67 Tenauntes in comon be they that haue landes and tenementes..by seueral tytle, and nat ioynt tytle, and none of them knowe that, that is seuerall to him. [1581 Kitchin Court Leet 198 Cestuy que plede seueral tenancy.] 1607 J. Cowell Interpr., Several tenancie (tenura separalis) is a plee, or exception taken to a writ, that is laide against two as ioynt, which are seuerall. 1628 Coke On Litt. 189 Joyntenants haue the Lands by one ioynt Title, and in one Right, & Tenants in common by seuerall Titles, or by one Title, and by seuerall Rights. 1684 Manley Cowel's Interpr., Several tayle, is that whereby Land is given or entayled severally to Two: For example Land is given to two Men and their Wives, and to the Heirs of their Bodies begotten; the Donees have joynt Estate for their two Lives, and yet they have several Inheritance. 1821 Archbold Digest 307 If several tenancy be pleaded to parcel, the tenant must also plead over to the action or vouch. 1826 G. J. Bell Comm. Laws Scot. (ed. 5) I. 346 note, A bill drawn abroad, without the words jointly and severally, settled to be joint and several on a report of mercantile usage. 1847 C. G. Addison Law of Contracts i. i. §2 (1883) 38 Wherever several persons agree to perform a particular act, they are bound jointly and not severally in the absence of express words creating a several liability. 1863 Chamb. Encycl. V. 732/2 The general rule of law is, that a contract of several persons is joint and not several. |
† 10. Logic. Used as designation of the minor proposition: see minor a. 4. Obs.
| 1551 T. Wilson Logic F viij, The seconde is called Minor, that is to saie, the seuerall proposicion. Ibid., The second terme is called the seuerall, whiche is in the second proposicion. Ibid. G j, The terme at large, is in the first proposicion, and the terme seuerall, is in the second proposicion. |
† B. adv. = severally adv.; separately, apart; distinctly, differently; each in his own place, way, turn, etc. Obs.
| 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. v. (1895) 157 Euerye kynde of thynge is layde vp seuerall in barnes. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. vi. 78 They al pourged them selves every man several [orig. L. separatim]. 1576 G. Baker Gesner's Jewell of Health 228 b, These beaten severall and apart, and compounded after altogether,..keepe to your use. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. i. 10 Both tooke goodly leaue, and parted seuerall. c 1615 W. Gordon in Purchas Pilgrims iii. iii. xii. 555 Foure or fiue Wiues, with whom he lyeth by turn euery night seueral. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 697 Hee together calls, Or seueral one by one, the Regent Powers. a 1777 Robin Hood & Golden Arrow xiii. in Child Ballads III. 224/1 We'll dress us all so several They shall not us perceive. One shall wear white, another red [etc.]. |
C. n.
1. in several [AF. en several]: † a. Of land, pasture: As private property; in private hands, under separate ownership, not common. Obs.
| 1473 Acta Audit. (1839) 27/1 Þe landis of Wistoune pertening to him in seuerale & propirte. 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 145 More profit is quieter found (where pastures in seuerall bee:) Of one seelie aker of ground, than champion maketh of three. [1602 Carew Cornwall 13 Their workes, both Streame and Load, lie either in seuerall, or in wastrell, that is, in enclosed grounds, or in commons.] 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. iii. (1673) 24/1 Where the Lands lie in several, and are duly cultivated, it answereth to the former character. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 204 Good store of Pasture, either in several or common. |
b. Separately, individually; apart from others or the rest; as a separate member, unit, etc. Now rare.
to know one's part in several (Law): see 2 c.
| 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1595) 47 As touching these particularities which wee have tearmed Motions and affects let vs consider if you wil in seuerall, and see [etc.]. 1601 Holland Pliny vi. xxxiii. I. 149 Now are we to compare respectively the greatnes of ech part of the world in severall. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 11 Concerning their members or parts in seueral, they are black and hairy,..a long Dogges face, and teeth stronger and longer then Dogges. c 1611 Chapman Iliad ii. 320 They all, will fight in seuerall then, (Easie for note). 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. iii. (1673) 3/1 So it retained that name [Asia] to it self in several, distinct both from the Greater and the Lesser Asia. 1862 F. Hall Hindu Philos. Syst. 160 note, Nescience and ignorance, when referred to souls in several, are only fractional portions of illusion. |
† c. Divided into separate portions. Obs.
| 1652 W. Brough Sacred Princ. (ed. 2) 28 If thou wouldest have a reason, why these Prayers are so short, and in severall, which use to make a long one, all put together. |
2. Land in private ownership or over which a person has a particular right; chiefly in particularized use, a plot of such land; esp. enclosed pasture land, as opposed to common. Obs. exc. dial. (see quots. 1787, 1895).
| c 1460 Oseney Reg. 139 Thabbot and Couent..purposenne..to close all þe forsayde ffelde of le heth and lynlonde as here seuerell. 1473 Acta Audit. (1839) 27/1 Quhethir þe said land..has been broukit..be þe saide Johne of carmichell..as propirte & seuerale til him. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 7 The lorde may haue an actyon of Trespace agaynst any man that chaceth or kylleth any of theym in his commen as well as in his seuerall. 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 229 They haue no seuerals to put their lambs in when they should bee weaned. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xiii. 409 He counts to enter common with others as good as his own severall. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 15 A Farm divided into many Severals. 1787 Marshall Norfolk (1795) II. 378 Dole, or Several, a piece of land upon a heath or common, off which only one particular person hath a right to cut fuel. 1895 E. Angl. Gloss., Several, a portion of common land allotted to a certain person. |
† b. gen. Private property or possession. Obs.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions Pref. A ij, When no man claimed aught for his seueralle, but lande and water ware as commune to al, as Ayer and Skie. 1616 Chapman Homer's Hymn Apollo 734 No more Yee must be made, your owne Reciprocalls To your lou'd Cittie, and faire seueralls Of wiues, and houses. 1636 B. Jonson Discov. (1640) 89 Truth lyes open to all; it is no mans severall. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. i. 242 Some are so boysterous, no severals will hold them, but lay all Offices common to their power. |
† c. to know one's several [AF. savoir son several]: see quots. Obs.
| [1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 1 None of them [joynt tenauntes] by the lawe..maye knowe their severall partes or porcions in the same. 1544 tr. Littleton's Tenures 67 Which haue suche landes & tenementes by seueral tytle, and nat ioynt tytle, and none of them knowe that, that is seuerall to him. 1628 Coke On Litt. §292 Their occupation is indeuided, and neyther of them knoweth his part in seuerall.] |
| 1598 Termes de la Ley §267 Though two tenants in common be seised throughly & of the whole and none knoweth hys seueral, yet if one die the other shall not haue the whole by y⊇ suruiuor. 1628 Coke On Litt. §292 None of them [tenants in common] know of this his seuerall. |
| transf. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. viii. (1640) 54 The deluge of the Saracens tyranny had washed away the bounds of the Churches jurisdictions, that now they knew not their own severals, where Mahometanisme so long had made all common and waste. |
3. pl. † a. (a) Particular or individual points, parts, or qualities; particulars, details. Obs.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. i. 86 There was not time enough to heare..The seueralls and vnhidden passages Of his true Titles to some certaine Dukedomes. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 180 All our abilities, gifts, natures, shapes, Seuerals and generals of grace. 1628 Feltham Resolves i. xii. 32 No man can leaue his Successor rules for seuerals. 1673 Ladies Call. i. i. §7 This will be found true in all the severals we are to pass thro. a 1703 Burkitt On N.T. Matt. vi. 13 In this comprehensive and compendious prayer, the following severals are remarkable. |
(b) rarely in sing.
| 1606 Hieron Truths Purchase 65 This is the first thing which I will..commend as a direction, for the meaner sort, (who cannot enter into the examination of every seuerall). 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), A Several, a Particular. |
† b. Different parts, branches, or heads. Obs.
| 1639 Fuller Holy War v. xix. (1640) 260 Herein we branch our opinion into these severals. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 26 Make Infallibility minced (as I may terme it) into severalls, and private Interpretation the Canon of our owne and other mens beleife. 1659 Bp. Walton Consid. considered iii. 39 This [general charge] will appear to be most untrue in the severalls, by him mentioned, when we shall come to them. |
† c. Individual persons or things. Obs.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 226 Not noted, is't, But of the finer Natures? by some Seueralls Of Head-peece extra⁓ordinarie? 1650 Jer. Taylor Holy Living ii. §3 (1686) 73 Besides these general acts of Chastity which are common to all states of men and women, there are some few things proper to the severals. |
d. Several persons or things; = A. b. (Cf. others.) Sc., Irish, and U.S.
| 1654 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 106 He spoak with severalls that were com in. 1693 Stair Inst. Law Scot. i. iii. §5 (ed. 2) 21 They remain only as bonds upon the good-will and honesty of these who are thereby bound, of which there are severals. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (Camden) 58 Itt was knowne to severalls aboutt the Court what my concerne in him was. 1711 Countrey-Man's Lett. to Curate 70 In all the Impressions of the Genevan Liturgie that ever I saw, and I have seen severals, there is a Table for the Moveable Feasts. 1756 M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitland Club) 155 They..were acquented with severalls of the great folks. 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3), Severals, for several, is used in Pennsylvania. ‘How many hats have you?’ ‘I used to have severals, but now have got only one.’ 1875 W. Alexander Sk. Ain Folk (1882) 121 Severals o' them wud lickly be cautioners or hae len'it sooms till 'im. 1880 Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v., Severals told me about it. |
† 4. ? A partition or boundary. Obs.
[Possibly another word, f. sever v. + al.]
| 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xiv, [The Jews] had..their seuerall for the Priests, and for the high Priest alone their seuerall. Their being in ours for locall distinction betwene the Clergie and the rest..but one partition. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Suffolk (1662) iii. 55 High stiles troublesome to be clambred over. But the owners grudge not the pains in climbing them sensible that such severals redound much to their own advantage. |
▪ II. † ˈseveral, v. Obs. rare.
[f. several a.]
1. trans. To make (a field) ‘several’ or enclosed and private property.
| 1482 Cov. Leet Bk. 510 My lorde Priour severels the Brodwok wast. Ibid. 511 The Maister of þe Trinite Gilde severels a feld in Stychall-hiron calde Miry-felde. 1577–87 Harrison England i. x. 36 in Holinshed, The people of this Ile vsed not to seuerall their grounds. 1794 W. Pearce Agric. Berks. 49 The advantage resulting from inclosing, or at least severalling common fields, is so very obvious. |
2. To divide or break up into separate parts or branches.
| 1570 Dee Math. Pref. *j b, Our Seuerallyng, distinctyng, and Numbryng, createth nothyng: but of Multitude considered, maketh..distinct determination. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman 55 Wee will severall the story into her branches. |