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sere

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sere

1[seer]
–adjective
dry; withered.
Also, sear.


Origin:
bef. 900; ME seer(e), OE sēar; see sear 1


arid, parched, desiccated, wizened.

sere

2[seer]
–noun
the series of stages in an ecological succession.

Origin:
1915–20; back formation from series
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sere 1 also sear   (sîr)   
adj.  Withered; dry: sere vegetation at the edge of the desert.

[Middle English, from Old English sēar.]
sere 2   (sîr)   
n.  The entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax.

[From series.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sere 
O.E. sear "dried up, withered," from P.Gmc. *sauzas (cf. M.L.G. sor, Du. zoor), from PIE base *saus- (cf. Skt. susyati "dries, withers;" O.Pers. uška- "dry" (adj.), "land" (n.); Avestan huška- "dry;" L. sudus "dry"). A good word now relegated to bad poetry. Related to sear. Sere month was an old name for "August."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
SERE
survival, evasion, resistance, escape
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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